If       f    ^ 


SOI-EN-GA-RAH-TA 

OR 

KING  HENDRICK. 


• 

THE 


INDIAN  TRIBES 


OF  THE 


UNITED   STATES: 


THEIR 


HISTORY,  ANTIQUITIES,  CUSTOMS,  RELIGION,  ARTS,  LANGUAGE, 
TRADITIONS,  ORAL  LEGENDS,  AND  MYTHS. 


V 
/ 


IXawe-      OtWoo  \ 


C.T 


EDITED   BY 

FRANCIS   S.  DRAKE. 


ILLUSTRATED  WITH  ONE  HUNDRED  FINE  ENGRAVINGS  ON  STEEL 


IN    TWO    VOLUMES. 

YOU    II. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

J.  B.   LIPPINCOTT    &    CO. 

LONDON:    18  SOUTHAMPTON  8TREKT,  COVENT  GARDEN. 

1884. 


«3T  o  ,\ 


Reproduced  by 
DUOPAGE  PROCESS 

in  the 
U.S.  of  America 


Micro  Photo  Division 
Bell  &  Howell  Company 
Cleveland  12,  Ohio 


o.\ 


\ 


Copyright,  1883,  by  J.  B.  LIPPINOOTT  ft  Co. 


535 


CONTENTS  OF  VOLUME  II. 


PERIOD  I. 

EUROPEAN   DISCOVERY   AND   EXPLORATION. 

CHAPTER  Tta* 

I. — The  Landing  of  Juan  Ponce  de  Leon  in  Florida,  and  of  Lucas  Vasquex  de  Ayllon  in  South 

Carolina — The  Ancient  Chicora  ...........  9 

II. — Verazz.mi  explores  the  Atlantic  Coast        ..........13 

III. — Narvacs  explores  Florida  and  discovers  the  Appalachian  or  Floridian  Group  of  Tribes  .         .         16 

IV. — Cartier  sails  up  the  St.  Lawrence 21 

V. — Expedition  of  Do  Soto  to  Florida — Appalachian  Tribes — The  Dakota* — Discovery  of  the 

Mississippi        ..............30 

VL — Coronado's  Expedition  into  New  Mexico — The  Zuni,  Moqui,  Navajoe,  and  Cognate  Tribes    .     ,    48 
VIL- — Voyages  of  Ribanlt  and  Laudonnicre — Mencndez — Retaliatory  Expedition  of  De  Gonrgues— 

Founding  of  St.  Augustine 67 


PERIOD  II. 

EARLY   EUROPEAN   SETTLEMENTS. 

I. — Discovery  of  Virginia — Efforts  for  its  Colonization — Sir  Walter  Raleigh — Sir  Richard  Green 
ville — Settlement  on  Roanoke  Island  abandoned — The  Aborigines — Jamestown  settled 
— Captain  John  Smith — Opechancanough — Massacre  of  the  Colonists — Indian  Popula 
tion  ....  64 

II.— The  Hudson  River  explored— The    Dutch     settle    Manhattan — Indian  War— Manhattan 

becomes  the  English  Colony  of  New  York— Indians  of  New  York          ....         80 

III. — Champlain  found*  Quebec  and  the  Canadian  Settlements 86 

IV. — Settlement  of  the  New  England  Colonies — Masaasoit — Efforts  to  Christianize  the  Indians— 

Their  Manners  and  Customs — The  Pequota 87 

V.— Maryland  settled— Aboriginal  Population  on  the  Shores  of  the  Chesapeake— The  Susque- 

hannocks— The  Andastes 95 

VI — Pennsylvania  coloniied— The  Lcnni  Lenape 108 

VII. — Settlement  of  the  Carolinas .        .       Ill 

3 

612 


CONTENTS  OF  VOLUME  IL 


PERIOD  IIL 

WAS  OF   RACES — EARLY   COLONIAL  BISTORT. 

I.— The  Peqoot  Tribe  and  the  Pequot  War— Destruction  of  Port  Mystic— Flight  mud  Extinction 

of  the  Tribe ..»••••••• 

II. — The  Nuragansetta — War  between  Uncas  and  Miantonomo 122 

U.L— The  Pokanoket  Tribe  and  Philip'*  War— The  Narragansetts  join  Philip  and  are  defeated 

and  humbled — Overthrow  and  Death  of  Philip J-5 

IV.— The  Merrimao  Valley  and  Abenaki  Tribes— King  William's  War— Governor  Dudley's  War 

— Sebastian  Rale— Lovewell's  Fight J IG 

V.— The  Southern  Indiana — Massacre  of  White  Settlers — Wars  with  the  Tuucaroras,  Tamaasees, 

Natchez,  and  Chiukasaws — Settlement  of  Georgia 152 

VL — The  Aquinoshioni,  or  Iroquois — Governor  Shirley's  War — Capture  of  Lonisbnrg— Treaty  of 

Aix-)a-Chapelle— The  Outagamies,  or  Foxes 159 


PERIOD  IV. 

FRANCE  Ain>   ENGLAND  CONTEND   FOR  THE   POSSESSION  OF  THE  OHIO  VALLEY. 

L — Policy  of  France — Her  Indian  Allies — Policy  of  England— The  Iroqnois— Sir  William  John 
son — The  Ohio  Company — Washington 166 

IL — Braddock's  Defeat 182 

IIL — Rittanning  destroyed — Battle  of    Lake  George — Capture  of  Oawego  and  Fort  William 

Henry 187 

IV. — Campaigns  of  1758-59 — Grant's  Defeat— Bouquet's  Battle — Reduction  of  Fort  Dn  Qnesne 
— Conference  with  the  Iroqnois — Conquest  of  Canada — Its  Influence  upon  the  Hostile 
Tribes  ...............  192 

V. — War  with  the  Cherokees 205 

VI. — Conspiracy  of    Pontiac — Detroit    besieged — Frontier  Posts    captured — Daliell's    Defeat — 

Battle  of  Bushy  Run— Relief  of  Fort  Pitt— Siege  of  Detroit  iaised      ....       210 
VII. — Expeditions  of  Bouquet  and  Bradstreet — Pacification  of  the  Tribes — Death  of  Pontiac         .       220 
VIII. — Logan — Dunmore's  Expedition — Battle  of  Point  Pleasant — Peace  concluded — Indian  Trade 

— Captain  Jonathan  Carver — Census  of  the  Tribes       .        .        .        .        .        .        .      230 


PERIOD  V. 

THE   AMERICAN    REVOLUTION. 

L— State  of  the  Indian  Tribe* — Brant — Action  of  Congress — Invasion  of  Canada,  and  Defeat  at 

the  Cedars 240 

II. — The  Johnsons — St.  Leger  invades  New  York — Fort  Stanwix — Battle  of  Orittkany        .         .       248 
III. — Employment  of  Indians  in  War — Address  of  Congress  to  the  Tribes — Massacres  of  Wyoming, 

Cherry  Valley,  and  Ulster 256 


CONTENTS  OF  VOLUME  II.  5 

r*«i 

IV. — Hostilities  with  the  Western  Indians — The  Shawncca — Cornstalk — Fort  Henry — Conquest  of 

Southern  Illinois — Fort  Luurcns 264 

V. — Battle  of  Minnuink — Sullivan  ravages  the  Iroqooia  Territory— Indian  and  Tory  Raid*  in 

Western  New  York — Cherokee  Hostilities — Massacre  of  the  Moravian  Delaware  .  .  271 

VL — Border  Wan  of  Kentucky — Booncsborongh  attacked — Bowman's  Expedition — Estill's  De 
feat—Battle  of  the  Blue  Licks— The  Creeks  attack  General  Wayne  ....  282 


PERIOD  VI. 

POST-KKVOLUTIOXARY. 

I. — Indian  Policy  of  the  United  States — Treaties  with  the  Tribe* 287 

II. — Establishment  of  the   Northwestern   Territory — War  with   the  Western   Tribes — Hannar's 
Defeat — Scott's  Expedition — St.  Cluir's  Defeat — Conference  with  Brant — Wayne's  Cam 
paign — Victory  of  the  Maunice  Rapids — Pacification  of  Greenville        ....       295 
III. — Explorations  of  Lewis  and  Clarke — Lieutenant  Pike — Elements  of  Discord — Tecnmsch  and 
the  Prophet  organize  the  Tribes  for  a  Conflict  with  the  United  States — Battle  of  Tippe- 

canix 308 

IV. — War  of   1812 — Disasters  on  the  Canadian  Frontier — Detroit  surrendered — Defeat  at  the 

Rivei  Raisin — Dudley's  Lefeat — Victory  of  the  Thames,  and  Death  of  Tecnmsch  .         .       317 
V. — Hostilities  with   the  Creeks — Massacre  at  Fort  Miras — Battles  of  Tullushatchcs,  Talladega, 
Hillabec,  Altpsce,  Emuckfau,  Enotochopco,  and  Tohopcka — Surrender  of  Weatherford — 

Captur »  of  PcDKacola — The  War  ended 324 

VI. — Treaties  with  the  Northwestern  Tribes,  and  Explorations  of  their  Territories — The  Chippcwas 
— The  Siou:: — Cession  of  Indian  Lands — Chippcwa  Agency   established  at  Saull  Ste. 

Marie 336 

VII. — Emigration  of  the  Eastern  Cherokees  sanctioned — Treaties  with  the  Southern  Tribes — Indian 

Bureau  organized 349 


PERIOD  VII. 

REMOVAL  OF   THE  TRIBES   WEST  OF   THE   MISSISSIPPI. 

I. — Plan  of  Removal — Statistics  of  the  Tribes .       353 

II.— Removal  begun— Creek   Difficulties— Death  of   the  Chief  Mclntosh— Treaty  for  the  Final 

Settlement — Boundary  Treaties  with  the  Northwestern  Tribes 361 

III.— Congress  author!**  the  Colonizing  of  the    Indians  in  the   West— The    Tribes    generally 

concur  in  the  Plan     ....>- 369 

IV— The  Black-Hawk  War 374 

V.— Subdivision  of  the  Indian  Territory  among  the  Emigrant  Tribes— Important  Treaties   .         .       380 
yi— War  Wlth  the  Scminoles  of  Florida— Massacre  of  Dadc's  Command— Battle  of  the  Withla- 

coochee— Battle  of  Okecchobee— Osccola— General  Worth  brings  the  War  to  a  Close     .       387 
VII_RemovaI  of  the  Chcrokccs— Opposed  by  the  Ross  Party— Effected  peaceably  by  General 

.Scott         •  • 394 

VIIL— Emigration  of  the  Tribes,  continued— Their  Condition— Ravages  of  the  Smallpox— Discords 
between  the  Eastern  and  Western  Cherokee*— Boudinot  and  the  Ridges  aasaxsinat.xl— 
Close  of  the  Firrt  Decade  of  Colonization  .  399 


6  CONTENTS  OF  VOLUME  IL 


.      PERIOD   VIIL 

INDIAN   AFFAIB8  SINCE  THE   ACQUISITION  OF   NEW   MEXICO   AND   CALIFORNIA. 


I.— Organisation  of  the  Territories  of  Kansas  and  Nebraska — Hostilities  in  California  aod  Oregon 

— Sioux  War  of  1862-63  in  Minnesota— The  Cherokee*  in  the  Rebellion     .        .        .      413 
II. — Operations  against  the  Indians  of  New  Mexico  and  Arizona  in  1862-63-64,  in  1869-72, 
and  in  1880— Massacre  of  Friendly  Apaches  at  Camp  Grant — Comanchcs  defeated  bjr 
Colonel  Mackenzie — Victoria's  Band  of  Apaches  destroyed 420 

III.— Hostilities  with  the  Cheyenne*,  Arapahocs,  and  Sioux— -Sand  Creek  Massacre — Powder 
Hirer  War — Massacre  of  Colonel  Fetter-man's  Command — Hancock's  Expedition — 
Powell's  Engagement 423 

IV. — Indian  Peace  Commission  of  1867-68 — Treaties  with  the  Hostile  Tribes— Report  of  the 
Commissioners — General  Sheridan — Renewal  of  Hostilities — Forsyth's  Battle — Surprise 
and  Slaughter  of  Black  Kettle  and  his  Band — Cessation  of  the  War  ....  428 
V. — Troubles  in  Montana — Piegan  Massacre — Red  Cloud  risits  Washington — Cheyenne,  Ara- 
pahoe,  and  Wichita  Chiefs  visit  New  Tork  and  Boston— Modoo  War— Black  Hills 
Expedition — Unlawful  Order  of  General  Sheridan — Sioux  and  Cheyenne  War  of  1876 
— Destruction  of  Crasy  Horse's  Village — Battle  of  the  Rosebud — Massacre  of  General 
Ouster's  Command — Agency  Indians  disarmed  and  dismounted— Sitting  Bull  surren 
ders — General  McKenxie  destroys  a  Largo  Cheyenne  Village — Bannock  War — Flight  of 
Dull  Knife's  Band  of  Northern  Cheycnncs 435 

VI. — Attempt  to  remove  Joseph's  Band  of  Nes  Pcrccs  resisted — Battles  of  White  Bird  Cafion 
and  the  Clearwater — Pursuit  of  Joseph's  Band  by  General  Howard — Repulse  of  General 
Gibbon — Stampede  of  Howard's  Pack-Train — Battle  of  Bear-Paw  Mountain,  and  Sur 
render  of  the  Indians  to  General  Miles — Troubles  with  the  Utea — Cession  of  their  Lands, 
September  13,  1873 — Murder  of  Agent  Meeker  at  the  White  River  Agency — Attack  on 
Major  Thornburgh's  Command — Utes  agree  to  leave  Colorado  and  settle  ou  a  Reserva 
tion  •««•••«........,  442 


LIST  OF  PLATES. 


83.  FRONTISPIECE. — Soi-cn-ga-rah-ta,  or  King  Hendrick. 

84.  De  Ayllon  attacked  by  the  Indiana 10 

85.  De  Soto  at  Tampa  Bay 32 

86.  Landing  of  A  mi  das  and  Barlow  in  Virginia 65 

87.  Esopus  Landing,  Hudson  River. 82 

88.  The  Ohio  Hirer  from  the  Summit  of  Grare  Creek  Mound 180 

89.  Pitteburg  in  1790 196 

90.  Falls  of  Montreal  River 202 

91.  Ruins  of  Old  Fort  Mackinac,  1763 212 

92.  Michilimackinac 224 

93.  Rod  Jacket 291 

94.  Falls  of  St.  Anthony 309 

95.  Valley  of  the  Minnesota  (St.  Peter's)  Rirer 342 

96.  Itasca  Lake,  Source  of  the  Mississippi .• .• 377 

97.  Ilumboldt,  California 414 

98.  Dakota  Encampment '. 417 

99.  Emigrants  attacked  by  the  Comanclies. ; „ 420 

100.  Dakota  Village 426 


THE   INDIAN   TRIBES 


OF  THE 


UNITED    STATES. 


PERIOD   I. 

EUBOPEAN  DISCOVERY  AND  EXPLORATION. 


CHAPTER    I. 

THE  LANDING  OF  JUAN  PONCE  DE  LEON  IN  FLORIDA,  AND  OF  LUCAS  VAS- 
QUEZ  DE  AYLLON  IN  SOUTH  CAROLINA— TUB  ANCIENT  CHICORA. 

IT  had  required  but  twenty  years  from  the  period  of  the  discovery  of  America 
by  Columbus  to  spread  the  Spanish  power  from  San  Domingo  through  the  Caribbean 
Islands  and  around  the  Cuban  shores  to  the  Straits  of  Florida.  Juan  Ponce  de 
Leon,  Governor  of  Porto  Rico,  whose  youth  had  been  passed  in  military  service  in 
Spain,  landed  in  1512  on  the  peninsula  of  Florida,  as  if  he  was  about  to  realize  the 
long-taught  fable  of  the  garden  of  the  Hesperides.  To  his  imagination  its  crystal 
fountains  appeared,  as  the  natives  had  depicted  them,  as  the  fountains  of  youth.  It 
is  known  that  the  cretaceous  deposits  of  this  peninsula  yield  copious  springs  of  the 
most  transparent  water.  That  these  pure  springs  should  excite  the  admiration  and 
superstition  of  the  Indians,  and  that  the  natives  should  form  extravagant  notions  of 
their  sanative  qualities,  is  not  strange,  nor  that  reports  of  their  extraordinary  virtues 
should  be  carried  to  the  neighboring  coasts  of  Cuba,  But  it  is  amazing  that  such 
stories  shouid  have  gained  belief,  even  in  the  low  state  of  knowledge  which  chara> 
terized  the  opening  of  the  sixteenth  century. 

Entertaining  such  a  belief,  however,  Ponce  de  Leon,  the  discoverer  of  the  Florida 
shore,  landed  near  the  mouth  of  the  St.  John's  River.  The  balmy  airs  of  a  tropical 
spring,  redolent  with  the  aroma  of  flowers,  such  as  saluted  his  senses  on  landing, 

u—2  9 


JO  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

were  not  calculated  to  dispel  his  prior  notions  of  an  elyrium.  From  the  feet  of  the 
day  of  his  discovery  being  Easter  Sunday,  and  from  the  luxuriance  of  ihe  vegetation, 
he  named  the  country  Florida.  He  was  informed  that  some  of  the  limpid  springs 
were  of  such  wonderful  virtue  that  they  would  rebiore  the  vigor  of  youth  to  the 
person  who  bathed  in  them.  In  search  of  these  fountains  of  youth  he  roved  over 
the  country.  During  these  excursions  the  suspicions  and  animosity  of  the  Indians 
were  excited,  and  he  at  last  paid  the  forfeit  of  his  life  for  his  credulity,  dying  in 
Cuba  in  1521  from  wounds  received  at  their  hands. 

The  first  attempt  to  found  a  government  and  plant  a  colony  in  North  America, 
within  the  present  territorial  area  of  the  United  States,  was  in  South  Carolina,  This 
was  about  six  years  before  Cortez  set  sail  for  Mexico,  some  fifteen  years  prior  to  the 
descent  of  Narvaez  on  the  Gulf  coasts  of  Florida,  and  just  a  quarter  of  a  century 
before  the  celebrated  expedition  of  De  Soto. 

The.  knowledge  of  geographical  truth  is  of  slow  growth.  Florida  appears  to 
have  been  looked  upon  very  generally  at  this  time  as  a  garden  of  the  Hesperides. 
It  chanced  soon  after  that  a  Spanish  mariner,  named  Miruela,  visited  the  coasts  of 
Georgia  and  Carolina  in  quest  of  traffic  with  the  natives.  In  this  traffic  he  received 
a  small  quantity  of  gold.  The  incident  created  a  sensation  on  his  return  to  San 
Domingo,  where  a  commercial  company  was  formed  to  prosecute  the  discovery  thus 
made.  Several  men  in  official  positions  engaged  in  this  enterprise,  the  principal  of 
whom  was  Lucas  Vasquez  de  Ayllon.  Two  vessels  were,  in  1520,  despatched  to  the 
coast  prepared  for  the  trade.  These  reached  the  mouth  of  the  river  Combahee,  in 
South  Carolina,  where  a  profitable  traffic  ensued.  The  coast  was  called  Chicora,  and 
the  Indians  Chicoreans.  When  the  trade  was  finished,  the  natives  were  invited  to 
gratify  their  curiosity  to  go  below-decks,  but  they  were  no  sooner  there  than  the 
hatches  were  closed,  and  the  vessels  immediately  hoisted  sail  for  San  Domingo.  One 
of  them  foundered  on  the  way,  and  all  on  board  were  lost.  The  other  reached  San 
Domingo,  and  the  Indians  were  sold  as  slaves. 

In  the  mean  time,  Vasquez  de  Ayllon,  who  exercised  the  functions  of  an  auditor 
and  judge  at  San  Domingo,  filled  with  the  idea  that  the  newly-discovered  province  of 
Chicora  abounded  in  the  precious  metals,  had  visited  the  court  of  Spain,  and  made 
such  representations  of  the  region  and  its  natives  that  he  returned  with  the  com 
mission  of  Adelantado  of  the  newly-discovered  country,  with  authority  to  found  a 
colony.  At  San  Domingo  a  squadron  of  three  ships,  with  Miruela  for  chief  pilot, 
was  fitted  out  in  1526.  Entering  by  the  Straits  of  St  Helena,  Vasquez  proceeded  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Combahee,  the  scene  of  their  prior  traffic  and  perfidy,  where  the 
largest  of  the  three  vessels  was  stranded.  Here  he  resumed  the  traffic  with  the 
Indians.  During  this  time  nothing  was  revealed  on  the  part  of  the  natives  to  indi 
cate  that  they  had  any  i-emembrance  of  the  carrying  off  of  their  countrymen.  Having 
finished  his  trade,  Vasquez  went  to  seek  a  suitable  site  for  his  colony,  and  pitched  on 
a  spot  on  the  waters  of  Port  Royal  Sound,  at.  or  perhaps  a  little  south  of,  tie  present 
town  of  Beaufort,  South  Carolina.  A  part  of  his  crews  had  landed  to  prepare  for 
the  new  town,  a  small  number  still  remaining  on  board  the  vessels  at  anchor  in  the 


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EUROPEAN  DISCOVERY  AND  EXPLORATION.  H 

roadstead.  They  Lad  hardly  commenced  their  labors  when  a  deputation  of  the 
Combahee  Indians  arrived  to  invite  the  men  to  attend  a  great  feast  at  the  village  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Combuhet;.  Two  hundred  persons  accepted  this  invitation,  and 
were  received  and  treated  with  the  utmost  hospitality.  They  were  feasted  for  three 
days.  When  the  feast  was  over,  and  while  the  men  were  wrapped  in  profound 
slumber,  the  Indians  arose  near  the  break  of  day  and  massacred  the  whole  party. 
Not  a  man  was  spared.  The  Indians  then  proceeded  in  hot  haste  to  the  selected  site 
of  the  new  town  of  Vnsquez,  where  they  £new  there  was  lax  discipline.  They  fell  on 
the  parties  of  men  in  their  disorganized  state  and  put  many  to  death.  A  sanguinary 
contest  ensued.  Indian  clubs,  spears,  and  arrows  were  arrayed  against  swords  and 
matchlocks.  Vasquez  escaped,  wounded,  to  his  vessels,  and  died  there;  in  October, 
1526.  Thus  failed  the  first  attempt  to  found  a  colony  in  the  area  of  the  United 
States.  This  incident  presents  a  dark  spot  in  Spanish  colonial  history  that  has  been 
but  little  dwelt  on  by  historians. 

The  perfidious  treatment  of  the  Indians  on  the  seaboard  of  Carolina  was  doubt 
less  one  cause  of  the  determined  hostility  with  which  the  Spaniards  were  afterwards 
received  on  the  Florida  coasts.  Verbal  information  was  communicated  by  their 
nimble  runners  to  other  Indians  with  great  celerity ;  and  when  people  of  the  hated 
nation  reappeared  at  subsequent  periods,  under  the  banners  of  Narvaez  and  De  Soto, 
they  encountered  the  most  unflinching  hostility. 

The  Chicorean  Indians,  who  thus  defended  their  coasts  from  invasion,  appear  to 
have  been  the  ancient  Uchees,  who  are  now  merged  as  an  inconsiderable  element  in 
the  great  Muskoki  family,  but  still  preserve  proud  memories  of  their  ancient  courage, 
fame,  and  glory.  We  are  informed  by  Colonel  Benjamin  Hawkins1  that  the  Uchees 
formerly  dwelt  at  Ponpon,  Salkehatchie,  and  Silver  Bluffs,  in  a  belt  of  country 
which  now  forms,  part  of  Georgia  and  part  of  South  Carolina,  and  that  they  were 
continually  at  war  with  the  Muskokis,  Cherokees,  and  Catawbas.  By  the  first-named 
nation  they  were  vanquished  and  nearly  annihilated ;  but  a  few  were  carried  away 
and  incorporated  with  the  conquering  tribe,  among  whom  the  name  and  a  few  of  the 
people  still  remain.  The  opinion  that  the  Muskokis  prevailed  over  the  Uchees  is 
confirmed  by  the  Muskoki  words  which  are  found  in  the  names  of  streams  and  places 
along  the  southern  part  of  the  sea-coast  of  South  Carolina.*  When  De  Soto,  in 
1539,  reached  Silver  Bluff,  on  the  Savannah,  the  ancient  Cofachique,  the  Indians 
of  that  place  exhibited  to  him  pieces  of  armor  and  arms,  which  the  Spaniards  sup 
posed  to  have  belonged  to  De  Ayllon. 

The  defeat  of  Vasquez  de  Ayllon  operated  to  discourage  the  Spanish  from  at 
tempting  further  conquests  in  that  quarter  for  many  years ;  but  it  appears  from  a 
map  in  the  third  volume  of  Navarrete  that  the  limits  of  the  discoveries  of  De  Soto 
extended  much  farther  to  the  north  than  other  writers  have  supposed  him  to  have 
reached.  Peter  Martyr  observes  that  the  northern  shores  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico 


1  Sketch  of  the  Creek  Country  in  179&-1799. 

1  Such  u  Coosawhatehie,  from  Coota,  the  name  of  •  band  of  Creek*,  and  Hatdue,  a  creek 


12  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

had  been  explored  in  the  year  1516.  In  1521,  the  year  of  the  final  fall  of  Mexico, 
Francisco  Garay  received  a  royal  patent  to  colonize  a  region  which  appears  to  have 
stretched  north  of  the  Panuco  or  Rio  Grande  on  the  Gulf.  But  it  was  not  till  six 
years  afterwards  thnt  anything  of  note  was  done  in  the  conquest  of  Florida  proper. 
It  is  evident  from  several  sources  that  the  Gulf  coasts  of  Mexico  at  this  time  had 
been  pretty  well  ranged  by  mariners,  and  that  this  region  had  begun  to  furnish 
adventurers  with  a  theme  of  intense  excitement.  In  1517,  Franciuco  Hernandez  dc 
Cordova  discovered  Yucatan,  and  the  next  year  Juun  de  Grijalva  made  the  discovery 
of  the  Indian-Mexican  empire,  the  conquest  of  which  was  undertaken  by  Cortez  in 
1519  and  finished  with  such  fame  and  glory  to  himself  in  1521.  The  spirit  of 
chivalry  seemed  to  have  revived ;  but  the  new  enterprises  were  not  undertaken  for 
the  righting  of  wrongs,  after  the  manner  which  Cervantes  lias  so  happily  satirized, 
nor  were  the  Spaniards  inspired  by  the  example  of  the  Crusaders,  who  aimed  at  wrest 
ing  Palestine  from  the  hands  of  the  infidels.  All  the  new  conquests  had  for  their 
chief  object  the  filling  of  the  pockets  of  the  conquerors  with  gold.  In  1525  and 
1526,  Pizarro,  fired  by  the  successes  of  Cortez,  began  those  discoveries  which  led  to 
the  conquest  of  Peru,  an  enterprise  which  he  completed  with  excessive  perfidy  and 
cruelty  in  1535. 

These  facts  may  serve  to  show  the  furor  for  the  ^lory  of  discovery  which  filled 
the  Spanish  court  and  nation  at  this  era,  and  may  also  explain  the  motives  which 
actuated  the  chivalric  discoverers  who  landed  among  the  athletic  Appalachian  tribes 
of  the  northern  coasts  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  These  tribes  had  no  mines,  no  cities, 
no  aqueducts,  no  palaces,  no  emperors ;  scarcely  was  there  a  road  or  path  in  thcii 
territory  that  could  be  traversed  without  the  cunning  of  a  fox.  But  they  were  brave 
and  proud.  They  were  democrats,  having  a  simple  government  of  chiefs  and  coun 
cils.  Each  warrior  had  a  voice  in  public  a  flair*.  They  had  a  high  sense  of  natural 
right  and  tribal  independence.  They  not  only  considered  the  lands  their  own,  but 
believed  that  they  had  been  given  to  them  by  the  Great  Spirit, — thus  creating  a  right 
that  could  not,  they  deemed,  be  disputed.  And  when  they  were  recklessly  invaded 
and  treated  with  the  harshness  and  inhumanity  which  marked  the  course  of  De  Leon 
and  Vasquez  de  Ayllon  on  their  eastern  borders,  they  stood  manfully  by  their  rights. 
That  the  Spanish  atrocities  were  known,  and  the  details  circulated  among  other  tribes, 
prior  to  the  expeditions  of  Narvaez  and  De  Soto,  cannot  be  doubted.  For  fifteen 
years  before  this  event  the  waters  of  the  Gulf  and  the  Caribbean  Sea  had  been 
traversed  by  the  vessels  of  Spain ;  and  wherever  they  landed  the  Spaniards  created 
the  impression  among  the  natives  that  white  men  were  freebooters  and  pirates. 


• 


CHAPTER   II. 

VERAZZANI  EXPLORES  THE   ATLANTIC  COAST. 

THE  next  reconnoissance  of  the  Atlantic  coast  tribes  was  made  by  Jean  de 
Verazzani.  France  was  not  unobservant  of  the  events  passing  in  the  West  Indies 
and  Florida,  and  determined  to  share  North  America  with  Spain.  The  name  Florida 
at  that  time  was  applied  to  all  of  North  America  north  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.1 
Verazzani  was  a  noted  Italian  mariner,  a  native  of  Florence,  who  had  been  employed 
by  France  for  some  time,  with  four  public  vessels,  in  cruising  against  the  Spanish 
commerce.  Separated  from  his  consorts  in  a  tempest,  he  resolved  to  undertake  a 
voyage  of  discovery  and  make  a  reconnoissance  of  the  then  indefinitely  extended 
region  of  Florida.  He  left  the  outer  isle  of  the  Madeira  group,  one  of  the  barren 
islands  called  the  Desertas,  on  the  17th  of  January,  1524.  About  the  middle  of 
March  he  made  the  American  coast,  in  latitude  34°,  at  a  point  somewheie  near  the 
present  position  of  Wilmington,  North  Carolina.1  Thence  he  sailed  south  in  search 
of  a  harbor,  until  he  noticed  the  appearance  of  "  palm-trees,"  or  palmettoes,  charac 
teristic  trees  of  the  coast-region  of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia.  He  then  changed 
his  course,  holding  towards  the  north,  and  ran  down  the  coast,  with  occasional 
landings,  till  he  reached  his  former  landfall,  and  found  himself  near  a  flat  diluvial 
shore  of  sand-hills  and  islets,  peopled  with  Indians,  but  without  a  harbor.  He 
anchored  off  the  coast  and  landed.  The  Indians  were  in  the  greatest  excitement, 
running  to  and  fro  in  wonder  and  fear.  Having  by  signs  of  friendship  induced  some 
of  them  to  approach,  he  gradually  quieted  them,  and  they  brought  him  some  pro 
visions.  They  were  naked,  save  an  azian,  or  small  apron  of  furs.  They  ornamented 
their  he-ads  with  bunches  of  feathers.  They  were  well  shaped,  with  black  eyes,  and 
straight  black  hair,  and  were  very  swift  of  foot. 

It  is  impossible,  from  so  general  a  description,  to  tell  what  group  of  tribes  he 
was  among,  or  what  region  he  was  in.  If  he  saw  at  this  landing  "  cypress,  laurels, 
and  palm-trees,"  he  had  probably  retraced  his  steps  to  latitude  34° ;  and,  judging 
from  the  description  he  gives  of  the  shore,  he  was,  we  believe,  off  the  count  of 
North  Carolina.  Still  sailing  on,  he  came  to  a  part  of  the  coast  which  trended  Mist, 
when,  set-ing  many  fires  and  the  natives  appearing  friendly,  he  ordered  his  bo;it 
ashore,  but  the  surf  was  too  violent  to  permit  landing.  One  of  the  sailors  here  ofl'eral 

1  This  fact  must  be  borne  in  mind  by  naturalists  in  investigating  the  history  and  spread  of  quadruped* 
and  other  species  stated  to  inhabit  Florida  in  1600. 

1  New  York  Historical  Collections,  vol.  i.  p.  23.  Forster  is  greatly  mistaken  in  supposing  this  place  to 
have  been  in  "  New  Jersey,  or  Staten  Island,  or  Long  Island."  (Voyages,  p.  434.) 

13 


14  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

to  swim  ashore  with  some  presents,  but  when  he  came  near  his  fears  prevailed,  and, 
throwing  out  his  presents,  he  attempted  to  return  to  the  ship,  but  the  waves  cast  him 
on  the  strand  half  dead  and  quite  senseless.  The  Indians  immediately  ran  to  his 
assistance,  dried  his  clothes  before  a  fire,  and  did  everything  to  restore  him.  His 
alarm,  however,  was  excessive.  When  they  pulled  off  his  clothes  to  dry  them,  he 
thought  they  were  going  to  sacrifice  him  to  the  sun,  which  then  shone  prominent 
over  the  hills.  As  soon  as  he  was  restored,  the  natives  gently  led  him  to  the  shore, 
and  then  retired  to  a  distance,  until  the  ship's  bout  had  been  sent  for  him,  and  they 
saw  him  safely  get  on  board. 

Yefazzani  now  went  on,  and  observed  the  coast  still  trending  northward.  After 
a  run  of  fifty  leagues,  he  anchored  off  a  fine  forest  country,  where  twenty  of  his  men 
landed  and  went  two  leagues  into  the  interior.  The  Indians  fled  into  the  forest. 
The  sailors  caught  an  old  woman  and  a  young  woman  hidden  in  the  grass.  The  old 
woman  carried  a  child  on  her  back,  and  had,  besides,  two  little  boys.  The  young 
woman  had  charge  of  three  young  girls.  Both  women  shrieked  vociferously  as  soon 
as  they  were  discovered.  The  elder  gave  them  to  understand  that  the  men  had  fled 
to  the  woods.  She  accepted  something  to  eat  at  their  hands,  but  the  young  woman 
refused  it  with  scorn.  The  latter  was  a  tall  and  well-shaped  person,  and  they  tried 
to  take  her  with  them,  but  she  made  such  outcries  and  struggled  so  desperately  that 
it  was  impossible.  They  took  one  of  the  boys. 

These  coast  Indians  had  nets.  Their  canoes  were  made  from  solid  trees,  burned 
out  with  fire.  Their  arrows  were  pointed  with  bone.  They  were  partly  clothed  with 
a  vegetable  tissue.  No  houses  were  seen.  The  trees  denoted  a  more  northerly 
climate  than  was  suited  to  the  palmettoes  they  had  before  observed ;  but  the  trees 
had  vines  climbing  to  their  very  tops.  Three  days  were  spent  in  the  reconnoissance 
of  these  fish-eating  Indians.  Verazzani  was  now  evidently  on  the  coasts  north  of 
the  capes  of  the  Chesapeake  or  of  the  Delaware,  a  region  then  inhabited  by  numerous 
small  tribes  of  the  Algonkin  family,  who  were  without  forest  meats,  subsisting 
chiefly  on  the  productions  of  the  sea-coasts,  navigating  the  inlets  and  shores  with  log 
canoes,  and  using  bone,  and  not  flint,  or  hornstone,  or  jasper,  as  material  for  arrows 
and  fish-hooks.  These  bands  stretched  apparently  along  the  entire  Maryland  and 
New  Jersey  coasts  to  the  Navasink  Highlands  and  the  land  of  the  Metoacs. 

Verazzani  continued  his  voyage  along  these  coasts  until  he  came  to  the  outflow 
of  a  "large  river,"  and,  entering  it,  found  a  good  harbor,  in  north  latitude  41°.  This 
some  historians  suppose  to  have  been  the  Bay  of  New  York.1  It  was  thus  an  Italian 
footstep  that  was  first  planted  on  these  shores.*  The  surrounding  country  is  described 
as  being  very  pleasant.  The  Indians,  who  are  pronounced  a  very  fine  race,  showed 

1  Bancroft  says  Newport. 

1  Foreter -says,  "  The  three  gre»t  empires  of  those  times,  Spain,  England,  and  France,  made,  each  of 
them,  use  of  an  Italian  to  conduct  the  royages  of  discovery  set  on  foot  by  them.  Spain  employed  Christopher 
Colon,  a  Genoese ;  England,  Sebastian  Cabot,  a  Venetian ;  and  France,  Jean  de  Yeraxxani,  a  Florentine." — 
Hittory  of  Northern  Voyage*  and  Ducoveriet,  p.  436. 


EUROPEAN  DISCOVERY  AND  EXPLORATION.  15 

him  where  the  deep  water  was.  A  storm  coming  up,  they  landed  on  a  well-cultivated 
island  (probably  Staten  island),  beyond  which  spread  the  harbor,  where  they  observed 
numerous  canoes.  We  are  indebted  to  Hakluyt  for  preserving  Verazzani's  description 
of  this  harbor : 

"  This  land  is  situated  in  the  parallel  of  Rome,  in  forty-one  degrees,  two  tierces, 
but  somewhat  more  cold  by  accidental  causes.  The  mouth  of  the  haven  lieth  open 
to  the  south,  half  a  league  broad,  and,  being  entered  within  it,  between  the  east  and 
the  north,  it  stretchcth  twelve  leagues,  when  it  wcarcth  broader  and  broader,  and 
makcth  a  gulf  about  twenty  leagues  in  compass,  wherein  are  five  small  islands,  very 
truitful  and  pleasant,  full  of  high  and  broad  trees,  among  the  which  islands  any  great 
uuvy  may  ride  safe,  without  any  tear  of  tempest  or  other  danger." 

In  this  ample  harbor  he  remained  fifteen  days,  during  which  he  frequently  sent 
his  boat  and  men,  and  went  ashore  himself,  to  obtain  supplies  and  examine  the 
country.  Some  of  the  men  stayed  two  «>r  three  days  on  one  of  the  islands.  Their 
excursions  extended  five  or  six  leagues  into  the  interior,  which  was  found  to  be 
"  pleasant,  and  well  adapted  to  the  purposes  of  agriculture." 

With  the  natives,  who  were,  as  we  now  know,  of  the  Mohican  family  of  the  Algon- 
kins,  he  had  frequent  intercourse,  and  he  speaks  of  them  with  kindness.  They  were 
uniformly  friendly,1  and  always  accompanied  his  parties,  in  greater  or  less  numbers, 
ashore.  He  describes  them  as  of  a  russet  color,  with  large  black  eyes,  black  hair,  of 
good  stature,  well-favored,  of  a  cheerful  look,  quick-witted,  nimble,  and  athletic.  He 
compares  them  to  Saracens  and  Chinese.  The  women  wore  ornaments  of  wrought 
copper.  Wood  only  was  used  in  the  construction  of  their  wigwams,  which  were 
covered  with  coarse  matting,  called  by  him  "  straw." 

This  is  the  first  description  we  have  of  members  of  the  great  Algonkin  family  of 
the  shores  of  the  Xorth  Atlantic.  Verazzani  appears  to  have  had  an  aptitude  for 
observing  the  character  and  condition  of  the  natives  and  the  geographical  features 
of  the  country.  The  marked  physical  traits  of  land  and  people  thus  noticed  by  him 
were  also  observed  and  recorded  a  hundred  years  later,  at  the  time  of  the  landings  in 
Virginia,  under  Raleigh,  as  well  as  those  made  by  Hudson  in  New  York,  and  by  the 
English  in  Massachusetts. 

Having  refreshed  himself  and  recruited  his  provisions  at  this  point,  on  the  5th 
of  May  he  continued  his  voyage  northward,  and  after  a  run  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  leagues*  he  discovered  high  lands  overgrown  with  forests.  The  Indians  were 
found  to  be  of  savage  habits.  They  lived  on  roots  and  other  spontaneous  products. 
A  large  party  of  the  crew  who  landed  here  were  received  with  a  volley  of  arrows. 
He  continued  his  voyage  north  to  a  point  on  the  coast  of  Labrador,  and,  having 
given  the  name  of  New  France  to  the  region  of  his  discoveries,  returned  to  Dieppe, 
whence  he  writes  his  letter  to  Francis  L,  bearing  date  8th  July,  1524. 

1  Verazzani'a  Letter  to  Francis  L 
The  leagues  of  the  early  voyagers  most  be  computed  at  two  miles. 


CHAPTER    IIL 

NARVAEZ  EXPLORES  FLORIDA  AND  DISCOVERS  THE  APPALACHIAN  OR  FLO- 

RIDIAN  GROUP  OF  TRIBES. 

FANFILO  DE  NARVAEZ  had  been  defeated  in  1520  by  Cortez  at  Cempoalla,  during 
an  attempt  to  arrest  the  conqueror  of  Mexico  in  his  unauthorized  career.  After 
seven  years'  attendance  at  the  court  of  Spain,  expended  in  vain  efforts  to  obtain 
redress  for  a  gross  civil  and  military  wrong,  he  returned  to  Cuba  with  the  appoint- 
ment  of  Adelantado  of  Florida  and  the  grant  of  full  powers  to  conquer  and  govern 
the  country.  It  is  affirmed  by  De  Vaca  that  he  left  Spain  in  July,  1527,  with  six 
hundred  men,  well  officered  by  cavaliers  and  gentlemen.  Owing  to  incidental  delays 
at  San  Domingo,  and  to  storms  and  shipwrecks  on  the  coasts  of  Cuba,  it  was  not  until 
the  13th  of  April,  1528,  that  he  landed  near  Tampa  Bay,  in  Florida.  His  force 
had  then  been  reduced  by  desertion  to  four  hundred  men  and  forty-two  horses. 
With  this  small  army  he  entered  a  country  the  geographical  features  of  which 
opposed  great  obstacles  to  a  direct  march,  and  the  region  was  soon  found  to  be  unable 
to  yield  an  adequate  subsistence  for  either  the  men  or  the  horses.  Besides  this,  Nar- 
vaez  had  no  interpreter  through  whom  he  could  communicate  with  the  Indians.  To 
drive  the  natives  out  of  their  impenetrable  jungles  and  fastnesses,  he  carried  blood 
hounds  along  with  him. 

The  Indians  who  had  been  descried  from  the  ships'  decks  the  day  before  he 
landed  had  fled,  and  left  their  wigwams  in  haste.  As  soon  as  his  followers  came 
ashore,  he  raised  the  eusigns  of  Spain,  and  took  possession  of  the  country  in  the  name 
of  the  emperor,  Charles  V.  His  officers  then  presented  him  their  commissions  and 
had  them  recognized,  and  thus  offered  a  sort  of  fealty  to  their  civil  and  military 
governor.  The  next  day'  the  Indians  who  had  fled  came  in,  and  made  many  signs, 
but,  as  there  was  no  interpreter,  there  could  be  but  little  communication.  The  coast 
where  he  landed  is  a  low  alluvial  tract,  intersected  with  large  indentations,  bays, 
ponds,  thickets,  and  streams,  which  offered  the  greatest  impediments  to  the  march 
of  the  troops.  To  avoid  these,  Narvaez  kept  inland,  directing  his  naval  forces  to 
continue  their  explorations  by  water  and  to  meet  him  at  a  more  westerly  point  He 
was  employed  from  the  1st  of  May  to  the  17th  of  June  in  reaching  the  main  channel 
of  the  Suwanee  River,  which  he  crossed  high  up.1  He  found  its  current  very  strong 
and  deep,  and  lost  a  horse  and  horseman  in  crossing  it,  who  were  carried  down  the 

1  Suwaneo  u  derived  probably  either  from  San  Juan  or  from  Hhawneo.     The  term  "  Mucoeo,"  in  the 
narrative  of  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega  (preserved  in  Theodore  Irv  ing's  Translation,  p.  60,  etc.),  is  nearly  the 
accusative  of  the  name  "  Liitle  Bear"  in  the  Chippewa  dialect  of  the  Algonkin 
16 


EUROPEAN  DISCOVERY  AND   EXPLORATION.  17 

stream  and  drowned.  Narvaez  was  now  among  the  Appalachians,  an  important 
group  of  tribes,  who  occupied  the  present  area  of  Georgia,  Florida,  and  the  southern 
pirt  of  South  Carolina,  extending  thence  to  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi.  Its  chief 
members  were  the  Muskokis  or  Creeks,  Choctaws1  or  Alabamas,  and  Chickasaws.1 
It  is  clear  from  tradition  and  philology  that  Florida  at  that  time  also  contained  a 
member  of  the  Algonkin  group,  in  the  tribe  of  the  Shawnees,  who  lived  on  friendly 
terms  with  the  Creeks.  These  were  all  expert  bowmen ;  and,  although  they  would 
not  stand  their  ground  in  bodies,  they  kept  up  a  harassing  war  of  details,  wounding 
and  killing  men  and  horses  at  every  opportunity. 

Narvaez  appears  to  have  been  deficient  in  knowledge  of  the  Indian  character, 
and  he  wholly  underrated  the  effects  of  kindness  and  a  sense  of  justice  on  their 
minds.  His  barbarous  mutilation  of  the  chief  Hirrihigua,  and  his  shocking  cruelty 
to  that  chieftain's  mother,  soon  after  entering  the  country,  produced  a  feeling  of 
deep-rooted  hostility,  and  was  well  calculated  to  make  him  and  his  nation  abhorred 
wherever  the  story  spread.  It  is  related  that  Hirrihigua  had  offered  a  determined 
resistance  to  Narvaez,  but  afterwards  formed  a  treaty  of  friendship  with  him.  Be 
coming  enraged  at  some  subsequent  conduct  of  the  chief,  which  is  unexplained, 
Narvaez  directed  his  nose  to  be  cut  off,  and  caused  his  mother  to  be  torn  to  pieces  by 
dogs.  Eleven  years  afterwards  De  Soto  encountered  the  deepest  hostility  from  this 
Bume  chief,  whom  he  used  every  means  to  conciliate,  but  without  success. 

The  march  of  Narvaez  from  the  scene  of  these  atrocities  was  one  unbroken  series 
of  hostilities  on  the  part  of  the  Indians.  Some  captives  whom  ho  took  west  of 
the  Suwuncc  were  compelled  to  act  as  guides.  They  led  him  through  vast  forests 
encumbered  with  fallen  timber,  which  imposed  the  greatest  toils.  Through  these  his 
army  struggled  heroically.  Not  only  were  they  wandering  they  knew  not  whither 
among  solitudes  and  morasses,  but  they  suffered  from  want  of  food  and  forage.  To 
such  a  degree  was  this  pressure  felt  that  they  were  often,  when  a  horse  gave  out, 
compelled  to  kill  him  aud  feast  on  his  carcass.  Narvaez,  on  leaving  Cuba,  was 
provisioned  only  to  reach  the  coasts.  He  supposed  he  was  about  to  enter  a  country 
ample  in  resources,  and  promised  himself  to  quarter  on  the  enemy,  as  Cortez  had 
done.  He  had  but  two  days'  provision  when  he  left  the  waters  of  Tampa.  He  and 
his  followers  had  landed  with  their  imaginations  highly  excited  by  visions  of  the 
golden  provinces  they  supposed  they  were  about  to  enter.  Cities  and  towns  flitted 
before  their  minds  sparkling  with  the  wealth  of  Mexico  and  Peru,  and  they  expected 
to  conquer  lords  and  caciques  who  would  supply  them  with  food  and  auxiliaries. 
Disappointed  at  every  step,  hope  still  led  them  on.  Their  horses  were  mere  skele 
tons  when  they  landed,  and  became  still  more  jaded  by  the  long  and  harassing 
marches  during  which  they  had  no  time  to  recruit.  The  men  fared  little  better. 
They  marched  fifteen  days  at  the  start  with  "  two  pounds  of  biscuit  and  half  a  pound 

1  Called  Mobilians  by  Da  PnU. 

*  The  fierceness  of  the  attacks  of  the  Chickasaws,  their  firing  a  village  of  which  he  had  possessed 
himself,  and  then  repeating  the  successful  stratagem  of  Maurihi,  may  be  said  to  have  driven  De  Soto  acre** 
the  Mississippi. 

u— 3 


18  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

of  bacon"  to  a  man ;  and  there  was  no  regular  commissariat  afterwards.  They  ate 
the  soft  crown  or  cabbage  of  the  palmetto,  and  were  relieved  at  several  points  by 
fields  of  corn,  a  grain  which  was  mature  about  the  middle  of  June.  The  magic 
word  which  led  them  on  was  "  Apalache,"  the  name  of  an  Indian  town.  Here 
they  expected  to  find  a  solace  for  all  their  toils,  and  a  reward  for  all  their  losses, 
struggles,  and  afflictions.  It  was  to  their  heated  imaginations  the  town  of  "  food  and 
gold." 

In  sight  of  Apalache  at  hist  they  came,  but  it  proved  a  damper  to  all  their  san 
guine  hopes.  There  were  forty1  small  Indian  abodes  of  humble  dimensions,  in  shel 
tered  situations,  and  covered  with  thatch.  The  Spaniards  were  surrounded  by  dense 
woods  and  groves  of  tail  trees,  and  by  large  bodies  of  fresh  water,  the  country  being 
without  roads,  bridges,  or  any  other  signs  of  civilization.  They  found,  indeed,  fields 
of  maize  fit  for  plucking,  as  well  as  some  dried  cr  ripe  maize,  and  mortars  of  stone 
for  pounding  it  The  houses  contained  also  dressed  deer-skins,  and  coarse  "  manta- 
lets  of  thread."  The  men  had  all  precipitately  fled,  but  they  soon  returned  in  peace, 
asking  for  their  women  and  children.  This  request  was  granted,  but  Narvaez  detained 
a  cacique,  intending  to  make  use  of  his  authority  as  another  Montezuma  for  swaying 
the  Indians.  This  measure,  however,  had  a  contrary  effect.  The  natives  of  Apalache 
were  a  more  spirited  people  than  the  Aztecs.  They  became  much  incensed,  and, 
returning  the  next  day,  attacked  the  Spaniards  with  great  fury,  and,  after  firing  the 
houses,  fled  to  the  lakes  and  corn-fields  with  the  loss  of  but  one  man. 

Having  beaten  them  off*,  Narvaez  and  his  army  remained  in  the  town  twenty- 
five  days  in  order  to  recruit  themselves.  He  was  now  evidently  on  the  waters  of 
the  Appalachicola.  The  detained  chief  of  the  Apalaches,  and  the  captives  before 
made,  were  inquired  of  respecting  the  country  and  its  resources.  They  replied  that 
the  surrounding  country  was  full  of  great  lakes  and  solitudes,  that  the  kind  was  little 
occupied,  the  people  few  and  scattered,  and  that  there  was  no  place  at  all  equal  in 
population  and  resources  to  Apalache  itself,  but  that  south  of  them  it  was  only  nine 
days'  journey  to  the  sea,  and  that  there  was  a  town  in  that  direction  called  Aute,  and 
the  Indians  there  had  "  much  maize,  beans,  pumpkins,  and  fish." 

To  Aute,  therefore,  Narvaez  directed  his  march.  His  course  was  obstructed  by 
large  bodies  of  water,  through  which  the  Spaniards  had  to  wade.  The  Indians 
attacked  them,  captured  their  guide,  and  shot  at  them  with  their  arrows  from  behind 
logs  and  trees,  sorely  wounding  the  men  and  horses.  The  Indians  are  spoken  of  as 
men  of  fine  stature,  great  activity,  very  expert  and  determined  bowmen,  and  most 
excellent  and  unerring  marksmen,  who  could  hit  their  mark  at  the  distance  of  two 
hundred  yards.  One  of  these  difficult  defiles  of  water  and  woods  followed  another. 
For  nine  days  the  Indians  hung  around  their  skirts  and  harassed  them,  killing  some « 
of  their  men,  wounding  many  more,  and  losing  but  two  themselves.  At  the  end  of 
this  time  they  reached  Aute,  from  which  all  the  inhabitants  had  fled,  but  they  found 
an  abundance  of  maize,  pumpkins,  and  beans,  ready  for  picking.  By  this  time  all 

1  Theodore  Irving  says  "  two  hundred  and  forty."     (Conquest  of  Florida,  p.  30.) 


EUROPEAN  DISCOVERY  AND  EXPLORATION.  19 

hopes  of  gold  and  dominion  had  fled.    To  add  to  their  distress,  disease  attacked  the 
men,  and  their  adventure  was  changed  into  a  struggle  for  existence. 

Narvaez  now  determined  to  search  for  the  sea,  which  was  near  at  hand ;  and, 
having  discovered  it,  without  finding  his  fleet  or  hearing  any  tidings  of  it,  he  resolved 
to  build  boats  and  continue  his  explorations  along  the  shore.     He  was  now  at  the 
extremity  of  his  affairs.     Unwell  himself,  and  his  men  and  animals  wounded  and 
exhausted,  in  an  impassable  country,  with  fierce  enemies  all  around  him,  deserted  by 
his  fleet,  and  finding  a  conspiracy  forming  among  his  men,  he  was  called  speedily 
to  decide  upon  a  course  of  action.     To  build  boats  and  embark  with  his  miserable 
followers  seemed  the  best  course.     But  he  was  wholly  without  means  for  such  a  work. 
He  had  neither  mechanics,  tools,  iron,  pitch,  nor  rigging.     The  next  day,  while  he 
pondered  in  perplexity,  one  of  his  men  came  and  said  he  could  make  pipes  out  of 
wood,  which  could  be  converted  into  bellows  by  means  of  deer-skins.     This  idea  was 
at  once  caught  at.     Stirrups,  spurs,  cross-bows,  etc.,  were  converted  into  nails,  saws, 
axes,  and  other  tools.     Pitch  was  obtained  from  the  pine ;  a  kind  of  oakum  was 
made  from  the  bark  or  fibre  of  the  palmetto ;  the  tails  and  manes  of  the  horses  served 
as  material  for  ropes,  and  the  soldiers'  shirts  were  made  into  sails.     They  killed  their 
horses  for  food.     Such  heroic  devotion,  and  such  ingenious  adaptation  of  means  to 
ends,  may  possibly  redeem  Narvaez  and  his  misguided  followers  from  some  measure 
of  the  reproach  to  which  their  previous  cruel  conduct  and  their  complete  failure  in 
their  enterprise  have  condemned  them.     In  sixteen  days,  by  hard  work,  they  had 
five  boats  ready,  each  of  twenty  cubits'  length.     They  were  provisioned  with  oysters 
and  mai/c,  for  which  the  men  searched  daily ;  and,  as  the  Indians  lay  constantly  in 
wait,  ten  of  the  Spaniards  lost  their  lives  in  this  hazardous  search.     Water  was  pro 
vided  by  filling  the  skins  of  horses,  flayed  entire  and  partly  tanned. 

They  had  now  marched  about  two  hundred  and  eighty  leagues.1  They  had  lost 
on  the  march  forty  men,  and  all  of  their  horses  but  one.  With  the  two  hundred  and 
eighty-one  "'en,  the  remains  of  that  army  which  had  landed  at  La  Cruz,  Narvaez 
embarked  -n  the  Bay  of  Cavallos,  at  the  mouth  of  a  large  river,  which  he  had  called 
Magdr'ena,  and  which  is  believed  to  be  the  Appalachicola.  When  all  the  men  and 
lading  **^re  on  board  the  boats,  the  gunwales  were  but  "a  span"  above  the  water. 
For  seven  days  the  men  conducted  these  fragile  vessels  through  sounds  and  shallow 
bays,  where  there  was  no  surf,  before  they  put  out  in  the  open  sea. 

They  also  captured  five  canoes  from  the  Indians,  which  enabled  them  to  lighten 
the  boats ;  and  they  made  "  waist-boards"  to  the  boats,  which  raised  the  gunwales. 
Often  they  entered  and  traversed  shallow  bays.  Provisions  and  water  having  failed, 
they  suffered  incredible  hardships.  For  thirty  days  they  proceeded  westward  towards 
the  Mississippi,2  but  their  only  safety  lay  in  creeping  along  the  coast  near  the  land. 

1  Buckingham  Smith,  the  translator  of  Do  Vac*,  thinks  it  was  only  two  hundred  and  eighty  mile*  (p.  32). 
This  would  give  a  fraction  "vor  four  miles  per  day  from  Tampa  Bay. 

•  It  has  been  stated  by  Mr.  Gallatin  (vide  Amer.  EthnoL  Trans.,  vol.  ii.)  that  Nanraei  discovered  the 
month  of  the  Mississippi ;  but  this  is  not  sustained  by  Do  Vaca,  and  there  is  no  other  authority. 


20  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

The  frailty  and  inadequacy  of  their  boats  would  not  permit  them  to  stand  out  boldly. 
If  they  landed  unwarily,  they  were  in  danger  of  being  massacred  by  the  Indians,  who 
skirted  all  this  coast  and  manifested  the  most  determined  hostility.  No  intelligence 
was  received  by  Narvaez  of  his  fleet,  nor  was  any  trace  of  it  found.  Some  of  the  men 
became  delirious  from  drinking  sea-water,  and  four  of  them  died  from  this  cause. 
One  night  they  were  attacked  on  an  island  where  there  was  an  Indian  village  in 
which  they  had  been  entertained,  and  Narvaez  received  a  blow  in  the  face  from  a 
stone.  The  Indians  had  but  few  arrows,  and  the  Spaniards  beat  them  off.  Their 
miseries  were  every  day  accumulating.  Stormy  weather  succeeded,  and  they  ex 
perienced  hunger  and  thirst  in  their  worst  forms.  They  kept  on  in  company  till 
the  1st  of  November,  when  the  boats  parted  company.  One  of  them  foundered,  it 
is  believed,  at  Pensacola.  It  appears  to  have  been  near  the  Bay  of  Perdido  that  Nar 
vaez  was  last  seen.  A  storm  was  blowing  off  the  land,  and  he  told  his  officers  and 
men  that  the  time  had  arrived  when  each  one  must  take  care  of  himself.  Many  of 
the  men  were  too  weak  to  lift  an  oar.  The  wind  increased  as  night  came  on.  The 
commander  was  not  afterwards  seen  by  any  person  who  survived  to  tell  the  story. 
The  boat  of  Cabeca  de  Vaca  was  cast  by  the  waves  on  an  island  a  little  to  the  west  of 
this  bay,  where,  furnished  and  nearly  lifeless,  the  Spaniards  were  kindly  received  by 
the  Indians ;  for  the  latter  were-  no  longer  hostile  when  their  enemies  were  over 
thrown  and  their  sense  of  humanity  was  appealed  to.  Thus  terminated  the  expe 
dition  of  Panfilo  de  Narvaez.1 

Concerning  the  fate  of  this  twice  unsuccessful  commander,  we  may  observe  that 
the  geography  of  Florida  fought  against  him ;  but  his  expedition  was  important, 
inasmuch  as  it  gives  us  our  first  view  of  the  Appalachian  group  of  tribes. 

Cortez,  even  in  the  worst  state  of  his  affairs,  after  the  noche  triple,  when  he  was 
without  food,  defeated,  and  surrounded  on  all  sides  by  fierce  enemies,  was  marching 
ever  lands  elevated  seven  thousand  feet  above  the  sea;  Pizarro  had  the  Andes 
beneath  him ;  but  Narvaez  while  in  Florida  was  never  a  hundred  feet  above  tide 
water,  and  most  of  the  time  was  wading  through  swamps  and  morasses  not  much 
raised  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  We  derive  these  details  from  the  narrative  of  De 
Vaca,  the  treasurer  and  high  sheriff  of  the  contemplated  government  of  Florida,  and 
the  only  surviving  officer  of  the  expedition,  who,  after  eight  years  of  captivity  among 
the  Indians,  with  three  companions,  crossed  the  Mississippi  and  the  Rio  Grande  del 
Norte,  and,  having  traversed  the  breadth  of  the  continent,  arrived  at  Compostella,  on 
the  Gulf  of  California,  finally  returning  to  Spain  in  1537.* 

— — _ : 

1  From  the  bones  and  cooking-utensils  found  on  Massacre  Island,  at  the  month  of  Mobile  Bay,  bj 
D'Iberville,  in  169&,  a  part  of  Narraei's  men  appear  to  have  met  their  fate  at  this  spot. 

'  Narrative  of  Alva  Cabeca  de  Vaca,  translated  by  Buckingham  Smith,  Washington,  1851.  \ 


• 


• 


CHAPTER   IV. 

CARTIER  SAILS  UP  THE  ST.  LAWRENCE. 

THE  voyage  of  Verazzani,  under  the  French  flag,  promised  little  or  no  advantage 
to  the  revenues  of  France,  and  consequently  it  attracted  little  attention,  and  was  for 
some  time  even  forgotten.  In  1534,  Admiral  Philip  Chabot  represented  to  the  king 
the  advantages  to  be  derived  from  sharing  with  Spain  the  rich  prize  of  North 
America  by  establishing  a  colony.  In  accordance  with  this  suggestion,  Jacques 
Cartier,  a  mariner  of  St.  Malo,  in  Normandy,  was  presented  to  the  king,  and  was  by 
him  approved  as  a  person  suitable  for  the  undertaking. 

Cartier  sailed  from  the  port  of  St.  Malo  on  the  20th  of  April,  1534,  with  two 
ships  and  one  hundred  and  twenty-two  men.  His  crew  took  a  solemn  oath  before 
sailing  "  to  behave  themselves  truly  and  faithfully  in  the  service  of  the  most  Christian 
king,  Francis  I."  The  excitement  concerning  American  discoveries  was  still  un 
abated  in  the  European  courts.  The  conquest  of  Mexico  had  been  completed  only 
thirteen  years  before,  and  Pizarro  was  now  in  the  height  of  his  later  triumphs  at 
Truxillo,  Guanuco,  and  Caxamarca. 

After  an  unusually  prosperous  voyage  of  twenty  days,  Cartier  made  Cape  "  Buona 
Vista,"  in  Newfoundland,  which  he  states  to  be  in  north  latitude  48°  SO'.  Here, 
meeting  with  ice,  he  made  the  haven  to  which  he  gave  the  name  of  St.  Catherine, 
where  he  was  detained  ten  days.  This  coast  had  been  known  since  the  voyage  of 
John  and  Sebastian  Cabot,  in  1497,  and  had  been  frequently  resorted  to  by  fishing- 
vessels.  Jean  Denis,  a  native  of  Rouen,  one  of  these  fishermen,  is  said  to  have  pub 
lished  a  chart  of  it  in  1506.  Two  years  afterwards,  Thomas  Aubert  brought  the 
first  natives  from  Newfoundland  to  Paris ;  and  this  is  the  date — 1508 — commonly 
assigned  to  the  discovery  of  Canada,  The  St.  Lawrence  remained,  however,  undis 
covered  ;  nor  does  it  appear  that  anything  beyond  a  vague  general  knowledge  of  the 
coast  and  of  its  islands  had  then  been  ascertained.  The  idea  was  still  entertained 
that  America  was  an  island,  and  that  a  passage  to  the  Asiatic  continent  existed  in 
those  latitudes. 

On  the  21st  of  May,  1534,  Cartier  continued  his  voyage,  sailing  "  north  and  by 
east"  from  Cape  Buona  Vista,  and  arrived  at  the  Isle  of  Birds,  so  named  on  account 
of  the  unusual  abundance  of  sea-fowl  found  upon  it,  with  the  young  of  which  the 
men  filled  two  boats ;  "so  that,"  in  the  quaint  language  of  the  journal,  "  besides  them 
which  we  did  eat  fresh,  every  ship  did  powder  and  salt  five  or  six  barrels."  He  also 
observed  the  godwit,  and  a  larger  but  vicious  bird,  which  received  the  name  of 
margaulx.  While  at  this  island  they  descried  a  polar  bear,  which,  in  their  presence, 
leaped  into  the  sea  and  thus  escaped.  Subsequently,  while  crossing  to  the  main- 

21 


22  rue  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

land,  they  encountered,  as  they  supposed,  the  same  animal  swimming  towards  land, 
and  "by  main  strength  overtook  her,  whose  flesh  was  as  good  to  be  eaten  as  the  flesh 
of  a  calf  two  years  old."  This  bear  is  described  to  have  been  "  as  large  as  a  cow, 
and  as  white  as  a  swan." 

On  the  27th,  Cartier  reached  the  harbor  of  "  Carpunt,"  in  the  Bay  of  "  Les 
Chasteaux,"  latitude  51°,  where,  on  account  of  the  accumulation  of  ice,  he  was  con 
strained  to  remain  until  the  9th  of  June.  The  narrator  of  the  voyage  describes 
certain  parts  of  the  coast  of  Newfoundland  and  adjoining  seas,  the  islands  of  St. 
Catherine,  Blanc  Sablon,  Brest,  the  Isle  of  Birds,  and  a  numerous  group  of  islands 
called  The  Islets ;  but  these  memoranda  are  unconnected  with  any  important  obser 
vations  or  discoveries.  Speaking  of  the  Island  of  Brest  and  the  Isle  of  Birds,  ho  says 
they  afford  "  great  store  of  godwits,  and  crows  with  red  beaks  and  red  feet,"  which 
"  make  their  nests  in  holes  under  ground,  even  as  conies."  Near  this  locality  "  there 
is  great  fishing." 

On  the  10th  of  June  he  entered  a  port  in  the  newly-discovered  island  of  Brest, 
to  procure  wood  and  water.  Meantime  boats  were  despatched  to  explore  the  islands, 
which  were  found  to  be  so  numerous  "  that  it  was  not  possible  they  might  be  told,  for 
they  continued  about  ten  leagues  beyond  the  said  port."  The  explorers  slept  on  an 
island,  and  the  following  day  continued  their  discoveries  along  the  coast  Having 
passed  the  islands,  they  found  a  haveu,  which  was  named  St.  Anthony,  and  one  or 
two  leagues  beyond  discovered  a  small  river,  named  by  thnm  St.  Servansport,  where 
they  reared  a  cross.  Distant  about  three  leagues  from  the  last  mentioned,  another 
river  of  larger  size  was  discovered,  in  which  salmon  were  found.  Upon  this  stream 
they  bestowed  the  name  of  St.  Jacques. 

While  at  St.  Jacques  River  they  descried  a  ship  from  Rochelle  on  a  fishing-cruise, 
and,  rowing  out  in  their  boats,  directed  it  to  a  port  near  at  hand,  in  what  is  called 
"  Jacques  Carrier's  Sound,"  "  which,"  adds  the  narrator,  "  I  take  to  be  one  of  the 
best  in  all  the  world."  The  face  of  the  country  examined  by  the  explorers  was, 
however,  of  thcTmost  sterile  and  forbidding  character,  being  little  else  than  "  stones 
and  rild  crags,  and  a  place  fit  for  wild  beasts ;  for  in  all  the  north  island,"  he  con 
tinues,  "  I  did  not  see  a  cart-load-of  good  earth.  Yet  went  I  on  shore  in  many 
places,  and  in  the  island  of  White  Sand  (Blanc  Sablon)  there  is  nothing  else  but 
moss  and  small  thorns  scattered  here  and  there,  withered  and  dry.  To  be  short,  I 
believe  that  this  was  the  land  that  God  allotted  to  Cain." 

Immediately  following  this  we  have  the  first  account  of  the  natives.  The  men 
are  described  as  being  "  of  an  indifferent  good  stature  and  bigness,  but  wild  and 
unruly.  They  wear  their  hair  tied  on  the  top,  like  a  wreath  of  hay,  and  put  a  wooden 
pin  within  it,  or  any  other  such  thing,  instead  of  a  nail,  and  with  them  they  bind 
certain  birds'  feathers.  They  are  clothed  with  beast  skins,  as  well  the  men  as  women, 
but  that  the  women  go  somewhat  straiter  and  closer  in  their  garments  than  the 
men  .do,  with  their  waists  girded.  They  paint  themselves  with  certain  roan  colors ; 
their  boats  are  made  of  the  bark  of  birch-trees,  with  which  they  fish,  and  take  great 
store  of  seals.  And,  as  far  as  we  could  understand  since  our  coming  thither,  that  is 


EUROPEAN  DISCOVERY  AND  EXPLORATION.  23 

not  their  habitation,  but  they  came  from  the  main  land,  out  of  hotter1  countries,  to 
catch  the  said  seals  and  other  necessaries  for  their  living." 

From  this  exploratory  trip  the  boats  returned,  on  the  13th,  to  the  newly-styled 
harbor  of  Brest.  On  the  14th,  it  being  Sunday,  divine  service  was  read,  and  the 
following  day  Cartier  continued  his  voyage,  steering  southerly  along  the  coast,  which 
still  wore  a  most  barren  and  cheerless  aspect.  Much  of  this  part  of  the  narrative 
is  occupied  with  the  details  of  distances  and  soundings,  as  well  as  the  names  of 
capes  and  islands,  of  very  little  interest  at  the  present  day.  On  the  18th  the  voy 
agers  saw  a  few  huts  upon  the  cliffs,  and  named  this  part  of  the  coast  "  Les  Granges," 
but  they  did  not  stop  to  form  any  acquaintance  with  the  tenants.  Cape  Royiil  was 
passed,  and  duly  named,  on  the  17th,  and  is  described  as  "  the  greatest  fishery  of  cods 
there  possibly  may  be,  for  in  less  than  an  hour  we  took  an  hundred  of  them."  On 
the  24th  the  island  of  St.  John  was  discovered.  Myriads  of  birds  were  seen  upon 
the  group  of  islands  named  "  Margaulx,"  five  leagues  westward  of  which  they  dis 
covered  a  large,  fertile,  and  well-timbered  island,  to  which  the  name  of  "  Brion"  was 
given.  The  contrast  presented  by  the  soil  and  productions  of  this  island,  compared 
with  the  bleak  and  waste  shores  they  had  previously  visited,  aroused  their  warm 
admiration  ;  and,  under  the  influence  of  this  excitement,  they  here  saw  "  wild  corn," 
pease,  gooseberries,  strawberries,  damask  roses,  and  parsley,  "  with  other  sweet  and 
pleasant  herbs."  Here,  also,  they  observed  the  walrus,  bear,  and  wolf. 

Very  little  can  be  gleaned  from  the  subsequent  details  of  the  voyage,  until  the 
arrival  of  the  expedition  in  the  Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence.  Mists,  head-winds,  barren 
rocks,  sandy  shores,  storms,  and  sunshine  alternate  in  the  landscape  presented  to 
view.  Much  caution  was  requisite  in  tacking  back  and  forth  on  an  iron-bound 
coast,  and  the  boats  were  frequently  made  use  of  in  exploring  the  shores  of  the  main 
land.  While  thus  employed  near  a  shallow  stream  called  the  "  River  of  Boats," 
they  saw  natives  crossing  it  in  their  canoes,  but,  the  wind  beginning  to  blow  towards 
the  land,  they  were  compelled  to  retire  to  their  vessels  without  opening  any  com 
munication  with  them.  On  the  following  day,  while  the  boats  were  traversing  the 
coasts,  they  saw  a  native  running  after  them  along  the  beach,  who  made  signs  direct 
ing  them,  as  they  supposed,  to  return  towards  the  cape  they  had  left.  As  soon  as 
the  boats  turned,  however,  he  fled :  nevertheless  they  landed,  and,  fastening  a  knife 
and  a  woollen  girdle  to  an  upright  staff  as  a  good-will  offering,  returned  to  their 
vessels. 

This  part  of  the  Newfoundland  coast  impressed  them  as  being  greatly  superior, 
both  in  soil  and  in  temperature,  to  the  portions  which  they  had  before  seen.  In  addi 
tion  to  the  productions  previously  found  at  Brion  Island,  they  noticed  cedars,  pines, 
white  elm,  ash,  willow,  and  what  are  denominated  "  ewe-trees."  Among  the  feathered 
tribes,  the  "  thrush  and  stockdove"  are  mentioned  ;  the  latter,  without  doubt,  being 
the  passenger  pigeon.  The  "  wild  corn,"  here  again  mentioned,  is  said  to  be  "  like 

1 1  italicise  the  word  "  hotter"  to  denote  the  prevalent  theory.  They  were  searching  for  Chin*  or  the 
East  Indies. 


24  fBE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

unto  rye,"  from  which  it  may  be  inferred  that  it  was  the  zizania,  or  wild  rice,  although 
the  circumstance  of  its  being  an  aquatic  plant  is  not  mentioned. 

While  running  along  this  coast,  Cartier  appears  to  have  been  engrossed  with  the 
idea,  so  prevalent  among  the  mariners  of  that  era,  of  finding  a  passage  to  India ;  and 
it  was  probably  on  this  account  that  he  made  so  minute  an  examination  cf  every 
inlet  and  bay,  as  well  as  of  the  productions  of  the  soil.  Whenever  the  latter  afforded 
anything  favorable,  there  appears  to  have  been  a  strong  predisposition  to  admiration, 
and  to  derive  inferences  therefrom  correspondent  with  the  pre-existing  theory.  It 
must  be  recollected  that  seventy-five  years  later  Hudson  entertained  similar  notions 
while  sailing  up  the  North  River.  Hence  the  application  of  several  improper  names 
to  the  animals  as  well  as  to  the  plants  of  these  latitudes,  and  the  apparently  con 
stant  expectation  of  beholding  trees  laden  with  fruits  and  spices,  "  goodly  trees," 
and  "  very  sweet  and  pleasant  herbs."  That  the  barren  and  frigid  shores  of  Lab 
rador  and  the  northern  parts  of  Newfoundland  should  have  been  characterized  as  a 
region  subject  to  the  divine  curse,  is  not  calculated  to  excite  so  much  surprise  as  is 
the  disposition  evinced  with  every  discovery  of  fertile  soil  and  verdure  to  convert 
the  favored  region  into  a  land  of  Oriental  fruitfulness.  It  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  sufficiently  understood  that  the  increased  verdure  and  elevation  of  temperature 
were  in  a  great  measure  owing  to  the  advancing  stage  of  the  season.  Cartier  arrived 
off  the  coast  on  the  10th  of  May,  and  prolonged  his  stay  through  July.  Now,  how 
ever,  it  is  very  generally  known  that  the  summers  in  high  northern  latitudes,  although 
short,  are  attended  with  a  great  degree  of  heat. 

On  the  3d  of  July,  Cartier  entered  the  gulf,  to  which,  during  a  subsequent  voyage, 
he  gave  the  name  St.  Lawrence,  and  the  centre  of  which  he  states  to  be  in  latitude 
47°  SO*.  On  the  4th  he  proceeded  up  the  bay  to  a  creek  called  St.  Martin,  near  the 
Bay  of  Chaleurs,  where  he  was  detained  eight  days  by  stress  of  weather.  While  at 
anchor  there,  one  of  the  ship's  boats,  being  sent  off  to  make  explorations  in  advance, 
proceeded  seven  or  eight  leagues  to  a  cape  of  the  bay,  where  two  parties  of  Indians, 
"  in  about  forty  or  fifty  canoes,"  were  observed  crossing  the  channel.  One  of  the 
parties  landed,  and  beckoned  to  the  explorers  to  follow  their  example,  "  making  a 
great  noise,"  and  showing  "  certain  skins  upon  pieces  of  wood," — i.e.,  fresh-stretched 
skins  ;  but,  fearing  their  numbers,  the  seamen  kept  aloof.  The  Indians  in  two  canoes 
prepared  to  follow  them,  in  which  movement  they  were  joined  by  five  canoes  of  the 
other  party,  "  who  were  coming  from  the  sea-side."  They  approached  in  a  friendly 
manner,  "  dancing  and  making  many  manifestations  of  joy,  saying,  in  their  tongue, 
'  Napew  tondamen  assuatah.' " l  The  seamen,  however,  suspecting  their  intentions, 
and  finding  it  impossible  to  elude  them  by  flight,  discharged  two  shots  among  them, 
by  which  they  were  so  terrified  that  they  fled  precipitately  to  the  shore,  "  making  a 
great  noise."  After  pausing  some  time,  the  "  wild  men"  re-embarked  and  renewed 

1  "  Napew"  means  man  in  the  Sheshatapoosh,  or  Lcbrador,  language.  "  Naba"  is  a  male  in  the  Algonkin. 
It  is  therefore  reasonable  to  conclude  that  these  were  a  party  of  SheshaUpoonh  Indians,  whose  language 
proves  them  to  be  kindred  with  the  great  Algonkin  family. 


EUROPEAN  DISCOVERY  AND  EXPLORATION.  25 

the  pursuit,  but  after  coming  alongside  they  were  so  terrified  by  the  thrusts  of  two 
lances  that  they  again  fled  in  haste,  and  made  no  further  attempt  to  follow. 

This  appears  to  have  been  the  first  encounter  of  the  ships'  crews  with  the  natives. 
On  the  following  day,  on  the  approach  of  the  "  wild  men"  in  nine  canoes,  an  inter 
view  was  brought  about,  which  is  thus  described :  "  We  being  advertised  of  their 
coming,  went  to  the  point  where  they  were  with  our  boats ;  but  so  soon  as  they  saw 
us  they  began  to  flee,  making  signs  that  they  came  to  traffic  with  us,  showing  us  such 
skins  as  they  clothed  themselves  withal,  which  are  of  small  value.  We  likewise 
made  signs  unto  them  that  we  wished  them  no  evil,  and,  in  sign  thereof,  two  of  our 
men  ventured  to  go  on  land  to  them  and  carry  them  knives,  with  other  iron  wares, 
und  a  red  hat  to  give  unto  their  captain.  Which  when  they  saw,  they  also  came  on 
land,  and  brought  some  of  their  skins,  and  so  began  to  deal  with  us,  seeming  to  be 
very  glad  to  have  our  iron  wares  and  other  things,  still  dancing,  with  many  other 
ceremonies,  as  with  their  hands  to  cast  sea-water  on  their  heads.  They  gave  us 
whatever  they  had,  not  keeping  anything,  so  that  they  were  constrained  to  go  back 
again  naked,  and  made  signs  that  the  next  day  they  would  come  again,  and  bring 
more  skins  with  them." 

Observing  a  spacious  bay  extending  beyond  the  cape  where  this  interview  had 
been  had,  and  the  wind  proving  adverse  to  the  vessels'  quitting  the  harbor,  Cartier 
despatched  his  boats  to  examine  it,  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining  whether  it  might 
not  afford  the  desired  passage;  for  it  must~t>e  kept  in  mind  that  he  was  diligently 
seeking  the  long-sought  passage  to  the  Indian  Ocean.  While  engaged  in  this  exam 
ination,  his  men  discovered  the  smokes  and  fires  of  "wild  men"^fthe  term  constantly 
used  in  the  narrative  to  designate  the  natives).  These  signs  were  observed-upon  the 
shores  of  a  small  lake  communicating  with  the  bay.  An  amicable  interview  resulted, 
the  natives  presenting  to  the  navigators  cooked  seal,  and  the  French  making  a 
suitable  return  "  in  hatchets,  knives,  and  beads."  After  these  preliminaries,  which 
were  conducted  with  considerable  caution  by  deputies  from  both  sides,  the  male 
natives  approached  in  their  canoes  for  the  purpose  of  trafficking,  leaving  most  of 
their  families  behind.  About  three  hundred  Indian  men,  women,  and  children 
were  estimated  to  have  been  congregated  at  this  place.  They  evinced  their  friend 
ship  by  singing  and  dancing,  as  also  by  rubbing  their  hands  upon  the  arms  of  their 
European  visitors  and  then  lifting  them  up  towards  the  heavens.  An  opinion  is 
expressed  that  these  people  (who  were  in  the  position  assigned  to  the  Micmacs, 
in  1GOO,  in  Mr.  Gallatin's  ethnological  map)  might  very  easily  be  converted  to 
Christianity.  "  They  go,"  says  the  narrator,  "  from  place  to  place.  They  live  only 
by  fishing.  They  have  an  ordinary  time  to  fish  for  their  provisions.  The  country 
is  hotter  than  the  country  of  Spain,  and  the  fairest  that  can  possibly  be  found ; 
altogether  smooth  and  level."  •  In  addition  to  the  productions  before  noticed  as  indi 
genous  on  Brion's  Island,  etc.,  and  which  were  likewise  found  here,  he  enumerates 
"  white  and  red  roses,  with  many  other  flowers  of  very  sweet  and  pleasant  smell." 
"There  be  also,"  saya  the  journalist,  "many  goodly  meadows  full  of  grass,  and 
lakes  wherein  plenty  of  salmon  be."  The  natives  called  a  hatchet  cochi,  and  a  knife 

u-4 


26  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

bacon.1  It  was  at  this  time  near  the  middle  of  July,  and  the  degree  of  heat  expe 
rienced  on  the  excursion  led  Cartier  to  name  the  inlet  Baie  des  dial  cure,  a  name 
which  it  still  retains. 

On  the  12th  of  July,  Cartier  left  his  moorings  at  St.  Martin's  Creek,  and  pro 
ceeded  up  the  gulf,  hut,  encountering  bad  weather,  he  put  into  a  bay,  which  appears 
to  have  been  Gaspe",  where  one  of  the  vessels  lost  her  anchor.  They  were  forced  to 
take  shelter  in  a  river  of  that  bay,  and  were  there  detained  thirteen  days.  Mean 
while  they  opened  an  intercourse  with  the  natives,  who  were  found  in  great  numbers 
engaged  in  fishing  for  mackerel.  Forty  canoes  and  two  hundred  men,  women, 
and  children  were  estimated  to  have  been  seen  during  their  detention  at  this  place. 
Presents  of  "  knives,  combs,  beads  of  glass,  and  other  trifles  of  small  value"  were 
made  to  the  Indians,  for  which  they  expressed  great  thankfulness,  lifting  up  their 
hands,  and  dancing  and  singing. 

These  Gaspe"  Indians  are  represented  as  differing,  both  "  in  nature  and  language," 
from  those  before  mentioned,  being  abjectly  poor,  but  partly  clothed  in  "  old  skins," 
and  possessed  of  no  tents  to  protect  them  from  the  weather.  "They  may,"  says 
the  journalist,  "very  well  and  truly  be  called  wild,  because  there  is  no  poorer 
people  in  the  world ;  for  I  think  all  they  had  together,  besides  their  boats  and  nets, 
was  not  worth  five  sous."  They  shaved  their  heads,  with  the  exception  of  a  tuft  on 
the  crown,  sheltered  themselves  at  night  under  their  canoes  on  the  bare  ground,  and 
ate  their  provisions  but  partly  cooked.  They  were  unacquainted  with  the  use  of 
salt,  and  "  ate  nothing  that  had  any  taste  of  salt."  On  Carrier's  first  lauding  among 
them,  the  men  expressed  their  joy,  as  those  at  the  Bay  of  Chaleurs  had  done,  by 
singing  and  dancing ;  but  they  had  sent  all  their  women,  except  two  or  three,  into 
the  woods.  A  comb  and  a  bell,  given  to  each  of  the  women  who  had  ventured  to 
remain,  excited  the  avarice  of  the  men,  who  quickly  brought  the  other  women,  to 
the  number  of  about  twenty,  from  the  woods,  to  each  of  whom  the  same  present 
was  made.  They  caressed  Cartier  by  touching  and  rubbing  him  with  their  hands, 
and  also  sung  and  danced.  Their  nets  were  made  of  a  kind  of  indigenous  hemp ; 
and  they  possessed  a  species  of  "  millet"  called  "  kapaige,"  beans  called  "  sahu,"  and 
nuts  called  "  cahehya."  If  anything  was  exhibited  with  which  they  were  unac 
quainted,  they  shook  their  heads,  saying,  "  Nohda."  It  is  added  that  they  never 
come  to  the  sea  except  in  fishing-time,  which,  we  may  remark,  was  probably  the 
reason  why  they  had  no  lodges,  or  much  other  property  about  them.  They  would 
naturally  desire  to  disencumber  their  canoes  as  much  as  possible  in  these  summer 
excursions,  that  they  might  carry  a  large  return  freight  of  dried  fish.  The  language 
spoken  by  these  Gaspe*  Indians  was  apparently  of  the  Iroquois  type,  for  "  cahehya" 
is,  with  a  slight  difference,  the  term  for  "  fruit"  in  the  Oneida. 

On  the  24th  of  July,  Cartier  erected  a  cross  thirty  feet  high,  bearing  the  inscrip 
tion,  "  Vive  le  Hoy  de  France."  Th3  natives  who  were  present  at  the  ceremony 

1  Kothfc  and  bahkon.  These  are  not  the  terms  used  to  designate  a  hatchet  and  a  knife  either  in  th« 
Micmac,  the  old  Algonkin,  or  the  Wyindot 


EUROPEAN  DISCOVERY  AND  EXPLORATION.  27 

seem,  on  a  little  reflection,  to  have  conceived  the  true  intent  of  it,  and  their  chief 
complained  of  it  in  a  "  long  oration,"  saying,  in  effect,  "  that  the  country  was  his,  and 
that  he  should  not  set  up  any  cross  without  his  leave."  Having  quieted  the  old 
chief's  fears,  and  used  a  little  duplicity  to  induce  him  to  come  alongside,  Cartier 
seized  two  of  the  natives,  named  Domaigaia  and  Taignoagny  (Iroquois),  with  the 
view  of  conveying  them  to  France,  and  on  the  following  day  set  sail  up  the  gulf. 
After  making  some  further  explorations,  and  being  foiled  in  an  attempt  to  enter  the 
mouth  of  a  river,  Cartier  began  to  think  of  returning.  Being  alarmed  by  the 
rapidity  of  the  tide  setting  out  of  the  St.  Lawrence  River,  and  the  weather  becoming 
remarkably  tempestuous,  he  assembled  his  captains  and  principal  men  in  council, "  to 
put  the  question  as  to  the  expediency  of  continuing  the  voyage."  The  result  of  their 
deliberations  was  as  follows.  Considering  that  easterly  winds  began  to  prevail,  "  that 
there  was  nothing  to  be  gotten,"  the  impetuosity  of  the  tides  being  such  "  that  they 
did  but  fall,"  and  storms  and  tempests  beginning  to  reign,  it  was  evident  that  they 
must  either  promptly  return  home  or  else  remain  where  they  were  until  spring. 
Under  these  circumstances  it  was  decided  to  be  expedient  to  return ;  and  with  this 
counsel  Cartier  complied.  No  time  was  lost  in  retracing  their  route  along  the  New 
foundland  coast,  and  they  arrived  at  the  port  of  "  White  Sands"  on  the  9th  of 
August.  On  the  loth,  being  "  the  feast  of  the  Assumption  of  our  Lady,"  after  the 
religious  services  of  the  day  were  concluded,  Cartier  set  sail  for  France.  "  About 
the  middle  of  the  sea"  he  encountered  a  heavy  storm  of  three  days'  continuance,  and 
on  the  5th  of  September,  after  an  absence  of  four  months  and  sixteen  days,  he 
arrived  at  the  port  of  St.  Malo.1 

The  account  which  Cartier  gave  of  his  discoveries,  and  the  benefits  thereby 
promised  to  the  future  commerce  of  France,  verified  as  the  narrative  was  by  the 
presence  of  Domaigaia  and  Taignoagny,  the  two  Iroquois  captives,  induced  Vice- 
Admiral  Meilleraye  to  recommend  him  to  the  king  for  further  employment.  Ac 
cordingly,  early  in  the  spring  of  1535,  Cartier  was  placed  in  command  of  another 
squadron,  consisting  of  three  ships,  well  provisioned  and  manned,  for  the  purpose  of 
still  further  prosecuting  his  researches  in  those  latitudes.  On  the  6th  of  May,  he, 
together  with  the  crews  of  his  vessels,  attended  divine  service  at  the  cathedral  of  St. 
Malo,  where  they  received  the  ecclesiastical  benediction.  He  sailed  from  St.  Halo 
on  the  19th  of  May,  taking  with  him  a  number  of  young  gentlemen  who  were 
ambitious  to  seek  their  fortunes  under  his  auspices.  On  the  outward  passage  a  severe 
tempext  was  encountered,  during  the  continuance  of  which  the  vessels  parted  com 
pany.  Carder  arrived  at  Newfoundland  on  the  7th  of  July,  where,  after  waiting 
until  the  26th,  he  was  rejoined  by  the  rest  of  his. squadron.  The  succeeding  day  he 
carefully  continued  his  voyage  along  the  coast,  taking  soundings,  with  the  view  of 
finding  good  anchor-ground,  and  tracing  out  the  bays  and  harbors  of  this  dangerous 
locality.  On  the  8th  of  August  he  entered  the  gulf  visited  by  him  the  previous 
year,  and  now  named  it  the  St.  Lawrence.  After  some  preliminary  reconnoissances 

1  HaUuj't. 


28  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

of  the  capes,  as  also  of  the  mainland,  and  obtaining  more  definite  information  con 
cerning  the  geography  of  the  country  from  Domaigaia  and  Taignbagny,  who  accom 
panied  him,  he  sailed  up  the  river,  and  on  the  1st  of  September  anchored  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Saguenay  River,  which  locality  appeared  to  be  familiar  to  the  two 
captives.  At  this  point  the  explorers  met  four  canoes  containing  Indians,  who 
evinced  their  usual  caution  and  shyness ;  but,  being  hailed  by  the  captive  Iroquois, 
they  came  freely  alongside  of  the  ships,  and  a  friendly  interview  took  place. 

As  Cartier  continued  to  advance  up  the  river,  the  tides  attracted  his  notice  as 
being  very  swift  and  dangerous.  Tortoises  were  found  in  this  vicinity,  and  for  the 
first  time  they  here  observed  the  sturgeon,  which  is  pronounced  "  savory  and  good 
to  be  eaten."  After  ascending  for  seven  days,  the  vessels  reached  the  island  which 
he  named  Bacchus,  but  which  is  now  called  Orleans,  where,  having  cast  anchor,  he 
ordered  the  boats  to  be  manned,  and  went  ashore,  taking  with  him  Domaigaia  and 
Taignoagny  as  interpreters,  through  whose  influence  the  fears  of  the  Indians  were 
appeased  and  a  friendly  feeling  established.  The  natives  evinced  their  joy  by  dancing, 
and  loaded  him  with  presents,  comprising  several  sorts  of  fish,  and  a  large  quantity 
of  the  maize,  called  by  Cartier  "  great  millet."  On  the  following  day  the  chief 
Donnaconna,  accompanied  by  his  entire  band,  arrived  in  twelve  canoes,  ten  of  which 
he  directed  to  stop  at  a  distance,  and  with  the  other  two  he  pulled  towards  Carrier's 
ship.  Donnaconna  stood  up  as  he  approached,  and,  with  violent  gesticulations, 
addressed  Cartier  in  a  long  speech.  The  captives  related  to  the  chief  what  they  had 
seen  abroad,  and  how  kindly  they  had  been  treated,  with  which  Donnaconna  was  so 
much  pleased  that  he  desired  Cartier  to  extend  his  arm  over  the  side  of  the  vessel 
that  he  might  kiss  his  hand.  He  then  laid  Cartier's  arm  fondlingly  about  his  neck, 
whereupon  the  latter  descended  into  the  chief's  canoe,  and,  having  ordered  bread  and 
wine  to  be  brought,  they  ate  and  drank  together,  and  parted  mutually  gratified  with 
the  interview.  Thus  happily  commenced  the  intercourse  of  the  French  with  the 
Iroquois. 

Having  determined  to  ascend  the  river  to  Hochelaga,  the  present  site  of  Mon 
treal,  Cartier  anchored  his  larger  vessels  in  the  entrance  of  a  small  river  on  the  north 
shore,  opposite  the  head  of  the  island  called  by  him  Santa  Cruz,  and  on  the  19th  of 
September,  in  his  smallest  vessel,  accompanied  by  two  boats  and  fifty  men,  he  com 
menced  the  undertaking.  To  prevent  this  movement  the  Indians  had  in  vain 
employed  all  their  arts  and  resorted  to  the  most  extravagant  demoniacal  dances,  but 
all  this  served  no  other  purpose  than  to  encourage  him  in  his  design.  A  voyage  of 
ten  days'  continuance  brought  him  to  an  expansion  of  the  river,  now  called  St. 
Peter's  Lake.  Finding  the  river  was  becoming  shallow,  he  left  his  vessel  at  anchor, 
and  proceeded  forward  with  the  two  boats  and  twenty-eight  armed  men.  He  was 
charmed  with  the  scenery,  the  fertility  of  the  soil,  and  the  luxuriant  productions 
of  the  new  country.  Everywhere  above  this  point  the  Indians  received  him  with 
friendship,  and  brought  him  presents  of  fish,  corn,  and  game.  When  he  anchored 
for  the  night  the  natives  assembled  on  shore,  built  fires,  danced,  and  uttered  shouts 
of  joy,  in  this  manner  making  his  voyage  resemble  a  triumphal  journey.  He  arrived 


EUROPEAN  DISCOVERY  AND  EXPLORATION.  29 

at  Hochelaga  (now  Montreal)  on  the  2d  of  October,  where  a  multitude  of  the  natives 
of  both  sexes,  old  and  young,  nwaited  his  arrival,  and  expressed  their  joy  by  dancing. 
Cartier,  having  arrayed  himself  in  gorgeous  clothing,  landed  on  the  following  morn 
ing,  accompanied  by  a  band  of  twenty  mariners.  Following  for  four  or  five  miles 
a  well-beaten  path  through  the  forest,  he  came  to  an  open  spot  where  »  bright  fire 
was  burning.  Here  he  was  received  by  a  deputation  from  the  town,  and  requested  to 
rest  himself.  A  speech  of  welcome  was  then  addressed  to  him,  after  which  the  pro 
cession  advanced  without  further  interruption  to  the  town  of  Hochelaga,  which  was 
situated  amidst  cultivated  fields,  and  surrounded  with  rude  ramparts  constructed  for 
defence.  Mats  having  been  spread  for  him,  he  was  ceremoniously  seated,  and  was 
soon  joined  by  the  chief,  Agouhanna,  an  old  man  afflicted  with  palsy,  who,  sitting  on 
a  stag-skin,  was  borne  on  the  shoulders  of  men.  Around  his  forehead  he  wore  a 
band,  or  frontlet,  of  red-colored  hedgehog-skins,  but  in  other  respects  he  was  not 
dressed  better  than  his  people.  As  neither  Domaigaia  nor  Taignoagny  would  accom 
pany  Cartier,  he  had  no  interpreter,  and  during  the  interview  communication  was 
carried  on  principally  by  signs.  After  the  close  of  the  conference  he  ascended  to  the 
top  of  the  neighboring  mountain,  accompanied  by  several  natives.  It  afforded  an 
extensive  view  of  all  the  surrounding  rivers,  rapids,  plains,  and  mountains.  Trans 
ported  by  the  scene,  he  bestowed  on  this  elevation  the  name  of  Mount  Royal.  Having 
asked  the  Indians  the  name  of  the  adjacent  country,  they  replied,  "  Canada,"  having 
without  doubt  understood  him  as  referring  to  the  town. 

Thus  having,  on  the  3d  of  October,  1535,  terminated  this  eventful  interview, 
Cartier  hastened  to  return.  Favored  by  both  wind  and  tide,  he  reached  his  vessel  in 
Lake  St.  Peter's  on  the  following  day,  and  the  post  of  the  Holy  Cross  on  the  llth. 
At  this  place  he  endured  a  cold  winter,  from  the  middle  of  November  to  the  middle 
of  March:  the  ice  in  the  St.  Lawrence  is  said  to  have  been  "two  fathoms  thick,"  and 
the  snow  four  feet  deep.  Twenty-five  of  his  men  died  of  scurvy.  He  was  detained 
in  the  river  of  the  Holy  Cross  until  the  6th  of  May,  when  he  sailed  for  France, 
carrying  with  him  the  chief  Donnaconna,  and  his  two  former  captives,  Domaigaia 
and  Taignoagny.  He  reached  the  French  coast,  and  cast  anchor  in  the  harbor  of 
St.  Malo,  on  the  6th  of  July,  1536. 

Speaking  of  the  Iroquois,  he  says,  "  They  possess  all  propoi  ty  in  common,  and 
are  clothed  in  skins  during  the  winter.  The  men  perform  but  trifling  labor,  and  are 
addicted  to  smoking.  The  condition  of  the  women  is  one  of  servitude  and  drudgery. 
Polygamy  is  tolerated ;  the  young  women  are  dissolute,  and  married  women  are  con 
demned  to  remain  widows  after  the  death  of  their  husbands.  Both  sexes  are  very 
hardy."1 

1  The  journals  of  these  two  voyages  are  contained  in  the  third  volume  of  Ramumo'i  Italian  Collection 
(Venice,  1565) ;  also  in  Loscarbot'i  "  Histoiro  de  la  NouYelle-Franoe." 


CHAPTER   V. 

EXPEDITION  OP  DB  8OTO  TO  FLORIDA— APPALACHIAN  TRIBES— THE  DAKOTAS— 

DISCOVERY  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPL 

UP  to  this  period  all  attempts  to  found  colonies  in  continental  America  had 
proved  complete  failures.  Ponce  de  Leon,  De  Ayllon,  Narvaez,  and  Cartier  had 
each  added  his  quota  to  geographical  knowledge  and  recorded  details  of  the  man 
ners  and  customs  of  the  Indians,  but  no  one  of  them  had  established  even  the  first 
outlines  of  a  colony.  Nine  years  after  the  disastrous  termination  of  the  expedition 
of  Narvaez,  Hernando  de  Soto  determined  to  effect  the  conquest  and  colonization  of 
Florida.  As  the  origin  of  this  expedition  cannot  be  well  understood  without  refer 
ence  to  events  which  occurred  on  the  northwestern  confines  of  Mexico,  it  becomes 
necessary  to  enter  into  some  details  respecting  them. 

In  1530  an  Indian  named  Tezon,  a  native  of  New  Galicia,  told  the  govern  >r  of 
that  province  a  wonderful  tale  about  the  existence  of  seven  cities  in  the  terra  incog 
nita  north  and  east  of  the  river  Gilu,  each  of  which  cities  was  as  large  as  Mexico. 
He  stated  that  the  country  so  abounded  in  the  precious  metals  that  entire  street*)  in 
those  cities  were  occupied  by  goldsmiths.  In  confirmation  of  what  he  asserted,  he 
said  that  his  father,  then  dead,  had  been  a  trader  in  ornamental  feathers,  and  in 
return  for  his  goods  had  brought  from  that  quarter  large  quantities  of  gold  and  silver. 
This  was  the  germ  of  the  long-prevailing  myth  of  the  seven  golden  cities  of  Cibola. 

It  so  happened  that,  while  this  story  was  yet  credited,  Cabeca  de  Vaca,  with  three 
companions,  one  of  whom  was  an  African,  arrived  at  Compostella,  the  capital  of  New 
Galicia,  after  having  been  nine  years  traversing  the  continent.  De  Vaca  had  been 
the  treasurer  of  Narvaez,  and  was  the  only  officer  of  his  army  who  had  escaped  the 
fury  of  the  waves  and  the  vengeance  of  the  Indians  on  the  Florida  coast  The  very 
fact  of  his  safe  passage  over  vast  territories  occupied  by  hostile  tribes  was  of  itself  a 
wonder,  but  yet  not  more  so  than  the  extraordinary  tales  he  related  of  the  state  of 
semi-civilization  in  which  he  had  found  some  of  the  tribes  whom  he  had  encountered, 
and  of  the  arts  and  wealth  they  possessed.  These  disclosures  rekindled  the  lateut 
cupidity  in  the  imaginations  of  the  Spanish  adventurers  who  were  seeking  their 
fortune  iu  Mexico.  All  classes  believed  in  the  new  land  of  golden  promise,  and 
fresh  vitality  was  imparted  to  the  stories  of  Tezon.  De  Vaca  was  summoned  to  the 
viceregal  court  of  Mexico,  where  his  presence  created  a  great  excitement  The 
viceroy,  Mendoza,  questioned  him  respecting  the  strange  incidents  of  his  escape,  and 
as  to  the  state  of  arts  and  civilization  among  the  Indians.  De  Vaca  represented  the 
tribes  on  the  Rio  Grande  and  Gila  us  wearing  woven  stufls,  living  in  large  houses 

built  of  stone,  and  possessing  rich  mines.     From  Mexico  his  fame  preceded  him  to 
ao 


EUROPEAN  DISCOVERY  AND  EXPLORATION.  31 

the  court  of  Charles  V.,  where  he  arrived  in  1537,  and  where  he  was  lionized  on 
account  of  his  adventures  and  sufferings,  and  the  tales  of  golden  wealth  to  be  found 
in  America.  Nothing  was  too  extravagant  for  the  credulity  of  his  audiences.  Suf 
ferings  and  perils  he  had  indeed  encountered,  but,  instead  of  plainly  telling  the 
Spaniards  that  Florida  was  a  country  containing  no  gold-mines,  destitute  of  cities, 
possessing  no  agriculture,  roads,  bridges,  or  any  traces  either  of  art  or  of  semi- 
civilization,  and  that  it  was  solely  inhabited  by  savages  who  cherished  determined 
hostility  to  the  Spanish  race,  he  conformed  to  the  preconceived  notions  of  the  court, 
the  nobility,  and  the  people,  and  represented,  if  he  did  not  himself  believe,  that 
it  was  another  Mexico  or  Peru.  The  public  mind  was  engrossed  with  the  idea. 
Prominent  among  the  believers  of  this  tale  was  De  Soto,  who  had  been  a  most 
valuable  assistant  of  Pizarro  in  Peru,  and  had  shared  largely  in  the  plunder  of  the 
Inca,  Atahualpa. 

De  Soto  determined  to  organize  a  new  expedition  for  the  conquest  of  Florida, 
one  which  should  exceed  in  means  and  splendor  anything  of  the  kind  that  had 
ever  visited  the  New  World.  Gentlemen  and  noblemen  of  rank  and  fortune  vied 
with  one  another  for  the  honor  of  participating  in  the  scheme.  The  finest  horses 
of  Andalusia  and  Estremadura,  the  most  chivalric  and  enthusiastic  cavaliers,  and 
the  bravest  footmen,  all  armed  and  equipped  in  th«  most  glittering  style,  and  well 
provided  with  drums,  trumpets,  and  banners,  formed  the  material  of  the  army  of  De 
Soto. 

De  Soto  was  one  of  the  wealthiest  men  in  Spain,  an  hidalgo  by  birth,  a  man  of 
pre-eminent  courage  and  conduct,  an  elegant  horseman,  a  soldier  without  peer.  He 
had  passed  several  years  in  Spain  after  the  conquest  of  Peru  in  ease  and  elegant 
hospitality  and  refinement;  and  he  was  celebrated  and  envied  for  his  wealth  both  in 
court  and  out  of  court.  There  was  none  equal  to  him  in  reputation  for  gallant 
achievements,  for  the  heroes  and  conquerors  in  the  New  World  had  mostly  risen 
from  low  stations,  but  De  Soto,  it  was  affirmed,  was  doubly  entitled  to  his  honors  by 
reason  of  the  claims  of  gentle  birth. 

He  offered  to  conquer  the  country  at  his  own  cost.  The  emperor  readily  granted 
his  request,  and  conferred  on  him  the  title  of  Adelantado,  with  the  usual  powers  and 
immunities.  His  standard  at  Seville  was  flocked  to  by  the  brave  and  ambitious  from 
all  quarters.  Portugal  as  well  as  Spain  sent  her  volunteers.  In  little  more  than  a 
twelve-month  his  forces  amounted  to  nine  hundred  and  fifty  men,  many  of  whom 
were  mounted,  including  gome  of  the  choicest  cavaliers,  with  twelve  priests,  eight 
inferior  clergymen,  and  four  monks,  all  of  whom  embarked  in  seven  large  anJ  three 
small  vessels  at  San  Lucar  de  Barrameda  oil  the  6th  of  April,  1538.  A  little  less 
than  eleven  years  before  this  date,  Narvaez  had  embarked  on  his  ill-starred  expe 
dition,  sailing  from  the  same  -port,  and  against  the  same  people. 

Everything  favored  De  Soto  during  his  voyage  to  Cuba  and  his  sojourn  in  that 
island.  Here  he  received  a  new  accession  of  followers  and  procured  an  ample 
recruit  of  horses.  More  than  a  year  elapsed  before  he  was  ready  to  proceed  on  his 
conquest.  In  the  mean  while  he  passed  his  time  in  entertainments,  tournaments,  and 


82  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

rejoicings,  more  like  some  grand  triumphal  display  of  a  conqueror  than  the  prologue 
to  a  descent  among  the  hammocks  and  lagoons  of  Florida,  where  every  thicket  con 
cealed  vengeful  bowmen,  and  the  whole  body  of  the  irritated  tribes  were  prepared  to 
assail  an  invader  with  the  direst  hostility.  Four  Indians  had  been  kidnapped  on  the 
coasts  and  brought  to  Cuba  to  serve  as  guides  and  interpreters,  a  point  of  great  im 
portance  certainly,  but  the  manner  of  obtaining  these  guides  served  further  to  irritate 
the  Indians  and  offend  their  natural  sense  of  justice  and  fair  dealing.  De  Soto  em 
barked  all  his  forces  about  the  middle  of  May,  and,  after  twelve  or  thirteen  days  spent 
on  the  transit,  entered  the  waters  of  Tampa  Bay, — being  the  same  body  of  water  that 
Narvaez1  had  entered  and  named  La  Cruz,  but  which  De  Soto  now  called  Espiritu 
Santo.  He  remained  in  his  vessels  six  days.  Everything  betokened  a  hostile  recep 
tion  from  the  Indians.  They  had  abandoned  the  coast,  along  which  bale-fires  were 
sending  up  their  columns  of  smoke  to  advise  the  distant  bands  of  the  arrival  of  their 
old  enemy.  On  the  last  day  of  May,  1539,  three  hundred  men  were  landed  on  arid 
ground  to  take  possession  of  the  country  for  the  crown  in  the  customary  form.  Not 
an  Indian  was  in  sight  But  near  dawn  of  the  following  day,  while  the  men  were 
bivouacked,  the  Indians  rushed  upon  them  with  horrid  yells,  armed  with  bows  and 
clubs.  Several  of  the  Spaniards  were  wounded,  notwithstanding  their  armor,  and 
the  whole  body  rushed  in  the  utmost  confusion  to  the  shore,  where  they  were  rein 
forced  from  the  ships.  The  enemy  were  then  dispersed  with  the  loss  of  a  single 
horse,  which  was  shot  with  an  arrow  that  had  been  driven  with  such  force  as  to  pass 
through  the  saddle  and  housings  and  pierce  one-third  of  its  length  into  the  body. 
The  whole  army  now  debarked,  and  during  several  days  while  they  reposed  here 
after  their  sea-voyage  nothing  more  was  seen  of  the  Indians. 

An  army  of  more  splendid  equipments  and  appointments  had  never  before  landed 
in  America.  It  was  led  by  the  most  brilliant  and  chivalrous  cavaliers.  It  glittered 
in  the  splendor  of  fresh-burnished  armor.  Its  trumpets  and  drums  wakened  new 
echoes  in  the  solitudes  of  Florida.  Its  horses,  of  Arabian  blood,  were  decorated  with 
gaudy  housings,  and  presented  an  object  of  terror  to  the  natives.  The  spear,  or 
lance,  was  a  dreaded  weapon  in  the  hands  of  the  horsemen,  and  the  natives  quailed 
before  the  deadly  aim  of  the  matchlock.  But  the  Spaniards  were  inferior  to  the 
Indians  in  the  use  of  the  bow.  The  Indians  were  also  free  from  the  encumbrance  of 
baggage.  They  were  superior  as  woodsmen,  and  superior  also  in  minute  knowledge 
of  the  land  and  of  its  natural  resources.  They  were  better  inured  to  the  fatigues  and 
hardships  of  forest-life.  They  imitated  the  sagacity  of  a  fox  in  threading  a  forest, 
and  the  ferocity  of  a  panther  in  pouncing  on  their  prey.  It  was  their  policy  not  to 
meet  their  invaders  in  battle  in  concentrated  bodies,  but  to  fell  on  them  unawares  at 
night  or  in  difficult  defiles.  They  sought  to  conquer  by  delay,  and  to  enfeeble  by  a 
strict  war  of  details.  When  consulted,  they  often  gave  vague  answers.  They  were 
adepts  at  concealment  It  is  believed  that  they  often  led  De  Soto  from  place  to  place 
to  entangle  him  deeper  in  the  forest  They  perceived  that  he  sought,  above  all  other 

1  Narvaex  had  lauded  on  the  west  shore  of  the  bay,  according  to  the  iuap  of  Smith's  De  Vac*. 


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EUROPEAN  DISCOVERY  AND  EXPLORATION.  33 

objects,  gold  and  gold-mines.  Of  these  they  had  none,  but,  ignorant  themselves  of 
metallic  minerals,  they  might  often  deceive  and  mislead  when  they  did  not  intend  it. 
To  ignorant  men,  silvery  and  yellow  mica  and  iron  pyrites  have  often  appeared  to 
be  gold  and  silver.  The  attention  of  the  Indians  was  so  perpetually  called  to  these 
subjects  that  they  could  not  mistake  the  •  object  of  the  invasion.  Besides,  it  was 
never  concealed  by  De  Soto  that  he  came  as  a  conqueror. 

It  was  not  possible  in  so  extended  a  line  for  De  Soto  to  keep  communications 
open  with  his  initial  point  of  landing ;  and  the  Indians,  acting  with  sound  policy 
and  just  judgment  of  the  Spanish  mode  of  warfare,  parted  before  their  enemy  and 
immediately  closed  up  behind  him.     The  particular  districts  he  traversed  were  con 
quered  no  longer  than  during  the  time  he  actually  remained  in  them.     De  Soto  at 
first  marched  towards  the  northeast  and  north,  then  to  the  west,  southwest,  and  south, 
and  finally  towards  the  north,  till  he  reached  the  indomitable  Chickasaws  and  crossed 
the  Mississippi.     By  marching  so  far  inland  from  his  starting-point  at  Tampa  Bay, 
and  crossing  the  Withlacoochee  and  the  lakes  and  lagoons  near  the  sources  of  the  St. 
John's  (where  we  must  locate  his  Vitachucco),  he  avoided  the  difficulties  that  con 
tinually  beset  Narvaez  on  the  Gulf  coasts.     The  movements  of  his  cavalry  were 
irresistible,  but  it  is  evident  that  his  infantry  lacked  drill,  discipline,  and  order. 
De  Soto  was  a  man  as  noted  for  his  resource  and  policy  as  for  his  bravery  and 
personal  presence  in  the  field  and  the  council.     He  took  great  pains,  on  reaching 
the  village  of  Hirrihigua,  but  two  leagues  from  his  point  of  debarkation,  to  appease 
the  feelings  of  that  chief  for  the  outrages  perpetrated  by  Narvaez, — cruel  and  foolish 
acts,  which,  if  there  were  no  other  proofs,  would  show  Narvaez  to  have  been  unfit 
for  command.     While  negotiating  with  this  chief,  De  Soto  heard  of  a  Spaniard  who 
was  held  in  captivity  by  a  neighboring  chief  called  Mucoso.     This  was  Juan  Ortez, 
a  man  who  had  been  secretly  landed  from  one  of  the  ships  of  Narvaez.     Ortez,  who 
had  learned  the  language  of  the  natives,  was  from  his  influence  with  the  tribes  a 
person  of  the  greatest  use  to  De  Soto  in  all  his  future  negotiations.     These  two  steps 
were  auspicious,  and  denoted  capacity  for  command.     The  Spaniard's  first  line  of 
march,  from  Tampa  Bay  to  Cofachique,  on  the  Savannah  River  (a  place  now  in 
the  State  of  South  Carolina),  was  a  military  and  exploratory  achievement  of  unique 
character.     He  was  now  near  the  northern  limits  of  the  Creeks,  or  Muskokis,  as 
the  place-names  sufficiently  denote.    While  at  Cofachique,  he  identified,  as  we  have 
before  intimated,  a  dagger  and  certain  articles  of  armor  which  had  been  captured 
about  twenty-five  years  previously  from  the  ill-fated  Vasquez  de  Ayllon.     Struck 
with  the  obedience  yielded  to  a  female  ruler  of  that  place,  whom  he  is  pleased  to  call 
"  queen,"  he  thought  he  could  facilitate  his  march  westward  by  carrying  her  along 
in  a  sort  of  state  captivity.     The  idea  was  a  repetition  of  that  of  Cortez  when  he  car 
ried  Montezuma  a  captive  to  his  quarters,  and  of  Pizarro  when  he  seized  Atahualpa. 
This  device  seems  to  have  answered  very  well  till  the  queen  found  herself  getting 
'beyond  her  proper  territorial  bounds,  when  she  managed  to  escape. 

De  Soto's  previous  experience  of  the  Indian  character  had  been  gained  altogether 
among  the  South  and  Central  American  tribes.    He  had  during  the  conquest  of  Peru 

ii. — 5 


84  TOE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

witnessed  their  implicit  obedience  to  Incas,  by  whom  they  had  been  subjected,  and  to 
whom  they  yielded  both  a  feudal  and  a  religious  submission.  It  was  impossible  for 
him  to  conceive  of  the  spirit  of  independence  possessed  by  the  free  and  bold  Appa 
lachian  tribes  whose  territories  he  had  now  invaded.  But,  if  he  mistook  their  true 
character  on  landing  in  Florida,  he  was  not  long  permitted  to  remain  ignorant  of 
their  determined  hostility  and  intense  hatred.  The  Indians  having,  as  they  supposed, 
received  their  lands  from  the  Great  Spirit,  of  whom  the  sun  and  the  moon  were 
only  symbols,  they  could  not  conceive  how  their  title  could  be  bettered  by  acknowl 
edging  the  gift  as  coming  from  Charles  V.  Not  only  did  Hirrihigua,  who  was 
still  smarting  under  the  atrocities  committed  by  Narvaez,  reject  every  overture  of 
peace,  but  the  same  spirit,  although  often  concealed  under  deep  guises,  animated 
every  tribe  from  the  Gulf  to  the  Mississippi.  Witness  what  Acuera,  a  Muskoki  chief, 
said  in  reply  to  the  messengers  of  De  Soto,  who  had  invited  him  to  a  friendly  inter 
view: 

"Others  of  your  accursed  race  have,  in  years  past,  poisoned  our  peaceful  shores. 
They  have  taught  me  what  you  are.  What  is  your  employment  ?  To  wander  about 
1  like  vagabonds  from  land  to  land,  to  rob  the  poor,  to  betray  the  confiding,  to  murder 
in  cold  blood  the  defenceless.  No !  with  such  a  people  I  want  no  peace, — no  friend 
ship.  War,  never-ending  war,  exterminating  war,  is  all  the  boon  I  ask. 

"  You  boast  yourselves  valiant,  and  so  you  may  be ;  but  my  faithful  warriors  are 
not  less  brave,  and  this  too  you  shall  one  day  prove  ;  for  I  have  sworn  to  maintain 
an  unsparing  conflict  while  one  white  man  remains  in  my  borders, — not  only  in 
battle,  though  even  thus  we  fear  not  to  meet  you,  but  by  stratagem,  ambush,  and 
midnight  surprisal. 

"  I  am  king  in  my  own  land,  and  will  never  become  the  vassal  of  a  mortal  like 
myself.  Vile  and  pusillanimous  is  he  who  will  submit  to  the  yoke  of  another  when 
he  may  be  free.  As  for  me  and  my  people,  we  choose  death — yes !  a  hundred  deaths 
— before  the  loss  of  our  liberty  and  the  subjugation  of  our  country. 

"  Keep  on,  robbers  and  traitors :  in  Acuera  and  Apalachee  we  will  treat  you  as 
you  deserve.  Every  captive  will  we  quarter  and  hang  up  to  the  highest  tree  along 
the  road."1 

This  was  the  spirit  in  which  De  Soto  was  met  by  all  the  natives,  with  the  single 
exception  of  Mucoso,  the  protector  of  Juan  Ortez.  This  spirit  was  sometimes  sup 
pressed  for  the  moment,  but  was  openly  manifested  wherever  the  invaders  could  be 
attacked  at  a  disadvantage.  During  the  twenty  days  that  De  Soto's  army  abode  in 
Acuera  to  refresh  themselves,  fourteen  Spaniards  were  picked  off  and  slain  as  they 
ventured  from  camp,  and  a  great  many  wounded,  without  the  possibility  of  the 
Spanish  seeing  or  finding  an  enemy.  Every  close  thicket  and  impenetrable  ham 
mock  seemed  armed  with  Indian  vengeance,  which  it  was  impossible  to  retaliate. 
The  bodies  of  the  slain  Spaniards,  who  were  ul must  daily  buried,  were  dug  up  the  fol 
lowing  night,  cut  to  pieces,  and  hung  upon  trees.  The  Indians  lay  in  wait  in  their 

1  Irring's  Conquest  of  Florida,  pp.  96,  97. 


EUROPEAN  DISCOVERT  AND   EXPLORATION.  35 

canoes  in  every  deep  and  winding  stream,  and  let  fly  their  deadly  arrows  whenever 
the  invader  attempted  to  cross. 

Such  determined  resistance  the  Spaniards  had  not  met  in  Mexico  or  Peru ;  and 
the  noble  sentiments  uttered  by  Acuera  should  have  taught  them  that  here  was  a 
class  of  Indians,  hardy,  athletic,  and  free,  who  had  never  yet  been  brought  into 
subjection  to  any  yoke,  native  or  foreign. 

De  Soio  was  not  insensible  to  the  noble  fire  of  these  sentiments,  but  was  not  for  a 
moment  to  be  diverted  from  his  task ;  and  he  determined  to  strike  terror  into  the 
hearts  of  the  natives  by  adopting  the  policy  of  "  an  eye  for  an  eye,  and  a  tooth  for  a 
tooth."  Enraged  by  the  peculiar  kind  of  petty  opposition  he  found  at  crossing  the 
streams  and  around  his  encampments,  he  let  loose  a  noted  blood-hound  as  the  min 
ister  of  his  vengeance,  who  in  a  few  days  tore  to  pieces  four  of  the  offending  I  ml  in, is. 
This  act  of  cruelty  was  inconsistent  with  the  notions  of  warfare  held  by  the  Indians, 
and  inflamed  their  rage  to  desperation.  It  was  a  similar  cruelty  that  had  rendered 
Narvaez  odious,  and  by  adopting  this  procedure  De  Soto  made  himself  and  his 
nation  still  further  hated  and  abhorred. 

What  the  twelve  priests  and  four  monks  were  doing  at  this  time  we  are  not 
informed ;  but  it  was  hard  to  teach  the  doctrines  of  Christianity,  which  are  so  full 
of  merciful  teachings,  while  its  principles  were  daily  contradicted  by  such  inhuman 
practices.  We  may  here  adduce  what  Vitachucco,  another  Creek  Indian,  at  a  more 
advanced  point  of  this  march,  said  to  his  two  brothers,  who  had  been  taken  captive 
by  De  Soto  and  had  sent  messages  to  him  advising  submission.  He  was  their  elder 
brother,  and  the  ruling  chief. 

"  It  is  evident  enough,"  he  replies,  "  that  you  are  young,  and  have  neither  judg 
ment  nor  experience,  or  you  would  never  have  spoken  as  you  have  done  of  these 
hated  white  men.  You  extol  them  greatly  as  virtuous  men  who  injure  no  one.  You 
say  that  they  are  valiant, — that  they  are  children  of  the  sun,  and  merit  all  our 
reverence  and  service.  The  vile  chains  which  they  have  hung  upon  you,  and  the 
mean  and  dastardly  spirit  which  you  have  acquired  during  the  short  period  you  have 
been  their  slaves,  have  caused  you  to  speak  like  women,  lauding  what  you  should 
censure  and  abhor. 

"  You  remember  not  that  these  strangers  can  be  no  better  than  those  who  formerly 
committed  so  many  cruelties  in  our  country.  Are  they  not  the  same  nation,  and 
subject  to  the  same  laws?  Do  not  their  manner  of  life  and  their  actions  prove 
them  to  be  children  of  the  Evil  Spirit,  and  not  of  the  sun  and  /noon,  our  gods? 
Go  they  not  from  land  to  land  plundering  and  destroying,  taking  the  wives  and 
daughters  of  others  instead  of  bringing  their  own  with  them,  and,  like  mere  vaga 
bonds,  maintaining  themselves  by  the  labors  of  others?  Were  they  virtuous  as 
you  represent,  they  would  never  have  left  their  own  country,  since  there  they  might 
have  practised  their  virtues,  instead  of  roving  about  the  world  committing  rob 
beries  and  murders,  having  neither  the  shame  of  men  nor  the  fear  of  God  before 
them. 

"  Warn  them  not  to  enter  my  lines ;  for  I  vow  that,  as  valiant  as  they  may  be,  if 


86  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

they  dare  to  put  foot  upon  my  soil  they  shall  never  go  out  of  my  land  alive ;  the 
whole  race  will  I  exterminate."1 

"  If  you  want  to  add  to  your  favors,"  said  four  Muskoki  captives  taken  south  of 
the  Suwanee,  "  take  our  lives :  after  surviving  the  defeat  and  capture  of  our  chieftain, 
we  are  not  worthy  to  appear  before  him,  nor  to  live  in  the  world." 

Such  were  the  feelings  and  temper  of  the  whole  body  of  the  Indian  tribes  who, 
in  1540,  occupied  the  wide  area  from  the  Atlantic  shores  of  Florida  and  Georgia  to 
the  banks  of  the  Mississippi.  Separated  as  their  tribes  were  into  different  communi 
ties,  they  sank  all  tribal  differences  and  united  in  a  general  opposition  to  the  invaders. 
Fear  of  the  common  enemy  drove  them  into  a  virtual  union.  They  never  omitted  a 
good  opportunity  to  strike,  but  they  often  concealed  their  hatred  under  the  deepest 
secrecy,  and  received  the  Spaniards  with  an  apparent  hospitality  which  lulled  the 
invaders  into  partial  security.  The  geographical  terms  which  are  employed,  though 
obscured  in  imperfect  forms  of  notation,  show  that  there  were  seven  different  tongues 
spoken  by  the  tribes  met  by  the  Spaniards  in  their  circuitous  line  of  march  from 
Tampa  Bay  to  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi,  at  the  lower  Chickasaw  Bluffs,  where 
'  the  army  crossed. 

The  ancient  Creeks,  or  Muskokis,  appear  at  that  time  to  have  occupied  the  entire 
territory  of  East  Florida  and  Georgia  from  the  Appalachicola  to  the  Coosawhatchee 
River  in  South  Carolina. 

De  Soto  passed  his  first  winter  in  the  vicinity  of  Tallahassee.  The  next  year  he 
reached  Cofaqui,  which  is  believed  to  have  been  near  the  present  site  of  Macon. 
The  Creeks,  who  found  him  pushing  on  under  false  expectations  towards  the  north 
east,  where  they  had  bitter  enemies,  gladly  facilitated  his  movements,  furnisbed  him 
with  provisions,  and  took  advantage  of  his  marching  across  the  elevated  grounds  at 
the  extreme  sources  of  the  Altamaha,  Oconee,  and  Savannah  Rivers,  to  send  the  war- 
chief  Patofa,  with  a  large  body  of  warriors,  under  the  pretence  of  escorting  him,  but 
really  to  fall  upon  their  enemies.  These  enemies  were  the  ancient,  proud,  and  high- 
spirited  Uchees,  who  had  defeated  the  Spaniards  on  the  Georgia  and  South  Carolina 
coasts.  As  soon  as  they  reached  the  waters  of  the  Savannah  River,  the  Muskokis 
secretly  left  De  Soto's  camp  at  night,  and  fell  with  the  utmost  fury  on  their  unsus 
pecting  enemies.  The  responsibility  of  this  act  was  of  course  charged  upon  the 
Spaniards.  De  Soto,  finding  himself  compromitted  by  this  act  of  perfidy,  sent  Patofa 
and  his  followers  back  to  Cofuqui.  They  returned  with  their  rich  trophy  of  scalps. 
The  Spaniard  then  continued  his  march  down  the  south  bank  of  the  river,  and 
crossed  over  to  what  had  been  the  will-o'-the-wisp  of  his  hopes  ever  since  quit 
ting  Apalache, — namely,  the  long-anticipated  Cofachique,*  where  he  expected  to  find 
mines  of  gold  and  silver.  This  is  a  Creek  name,  which  was  mentioned  to  the  whites' 
the  year  before  at  their  winter-quarters  near  Tallahassee  by  an  Indian  boy  named 
Pedro,  who,  the  narrator  reports,  De  Soto  had  "  proved  to  be  a  most  elaborate  liar  on 
various  occasions."  That  the  Creeks  followed  up  the  blow  when  De  Soto  had  left  the 

1  Irving'g  Conquest  of  Florida.  *  Silver  Bluffs,  Barowcll  County,  South  Carolina. 


EUROPEAN  DISCOVERY  AND  EXPLORATION.  37 

country,  and  finally  conquered  the  Uchecs  and  brought  off  the  remnant,  whom  they 
incorporated  into  their  confederacy,  is  denoted  by  their  traditions. 

Disappointed  in  his  hopes  of  finding  the  precious  metals  at  Cofachique,  and  of 
opening  a  communication  with  the  "  Queen-mother"  of  the  Uchee  tribe,1  he  carried 
a  young  woman,  who  then  ruled  the  village,  captive  with  him  on  his  march  from  this 
point  towards  the  Appalachian  Mountains.  But  she  managed  to  escape  on  the  way 
towards  the  country  of  her  enemies.  The  Spanish  and  Portuguese  narrators  of  this 
expedition  are  constantly  on  stilts.  The  words  "  king,  queen,  prince,"  and  the  like, 
are  continually  misapplied  to  the  chiefs  of  bold  and  free  hunter-tribes,  which  were 
ruled  by  simple  democratic  councils  of  chiefs  and  warriors,  who  lived  in  bark  wig 
wams  more  or  less  substantial,  and  had  no  exact  boundaries  to  their  territories,  but 
generally  left  a  strip  of  hunting-  and  war-ground  undisturbed  between  the  tribes,  as 
at  this  day. 

Reports  of  gold  and  silver  carried  De  Soto  north  and  northwest  towards  the 
Appalachian  Mountains,  where  he  passed  through  a  part  of  the  tr  rritory  occupied  by 
a  tribe  who  are  called  "  Achalaques,"  the  modern  Cherokees.  This  is  the  first  notice 
we  have  of  this  tribe.  While  encamped  among  the  barren  eminences  at  Ichiaha, 
the  Cherokees  told  him  that  about  thirty  miles  north  there  was  gold.  He  sent  two 
men  into  the  spurs  of  the  mountain  to  search  for  this  metal,  who,  after  an  absence 
of  ten  days,  reported  the  discovery  of  a  country  of  grain  and  pasturage :  "  the 
appearance  of  the  soil  indicated  the  probable  presence  of  gold  and  silver  in  the 
neighborhood." 

It  is  remarkable  that  in  this  part  of  his  march  De  Soto  should  have  passed  over 
the  region  of  Dahlonega,  where  gold  has  been  found  in  such  quantities  in  the  detritus 
of  the  mountains  that  the  United  States  government  for  a  time  had  a  mint  at  that 
place.  This  proves  that  the  reports  of  the  Indians,  though  often  vague,  were  some 
times  reliable. 

He  now  marched  south  and  re-entered  the  country  of  the  Creeks,  following  down 
the  fertile  and  beautiful  banks  of  the  Coosa.  The  spirit  of  Hirrihigua,  Acuera,  and 
Vitachucco  appeared  to  have  died  away ;  and,  notwithstanding  some  difficulties,  the 
Europeans  were  received  with  general  friendliness,  being  neralded  from  one  Indian 
village  to  another,  as  far  at  least  as  Coosa,  their  principal  town.  De  Soto  now 
approached  the  borders  of  the  Choctaws  and  Chickasaws.  In  his  triumphal  march 
down  the  banks  of  the  Coosa,  the  Creeks  accompanied  him,  with  hidden  motives. 
They  carefully  concealed  a  plot  which  was  afterwards  revealed  at  Mauvila.  The 
practice  of  making  the  ruling  chief  captive,  and  taking  him  along  to  secure  the 
obedience  of  his  warriors,  who  were  compelled  to  carry  the  baggage  of  the  army, 
was  elways  grating  to  the  natural  feeling  of  independence  of  the  aborigines.  Yet  no 
outbreaking  opposition  was  made.  The  Spaniards  regarded  the  tribes  as  conquered, 
and  therefore  relaxed  their  military  diligence  and  discipline.  They  marched  along, 
spreading  out  over  large  spaces.  Their  encampments  were  loosely  guarded.  It  is 

1  The  Muskoku  had  a  Salic  law. 


38  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

evident  that  they  often  neglected  even  to  poet  sentinels.  The  "  camp-master"  was 
very  remiss, — BO  much  so  that  he  was  finally  displaced. 

There  was  at  that  time  a  noted  chief  living  on  the  Coosa,  of  gigantic  frame  and 
great  courage  and  vigor  of  intellect,  called  Tuscaloosa,  or  the  Black  Warrior.  He 
had  been  carried  along  by  De  Soto  a  captive  like  the  preceding  chiefs,  on  the  march 
down  this  magnificent  valley.  But  he  bore  the  indignity  with  a  degree  of  impatience 
that  nothing  short  of  his  Indian  stoicism  could  control.  As  De  Soto  marched  down 
the  river  towards  the  village  of  Mauvila,  he  had  some  suspicions  of  the  Black  War 
rior's  intentions  from  the  frequent  Indian  messengers  he  noticed,  but  there  were  no 
additional  warriors  to  his  train.  The  Spaniards  entered  the  town  in  a  straggling 
manner  and  at  intervals,  a  fact  which  shows  that  no  direct  hostility  was  anticipated, 
and  certainly  no  additional  precautions  were  taken  against  such  hostility.  Tuscaloosa 
was  brought  a  virtual  captive  to  his  own  capital.  But  the  hour  foretold  by  Acuera 
had  arrived.  The  day  of  Indian  vengeance  was  at  hand.  Mauvila  was  a  strongly- 
fortified  village,  situated  on  a  peninsula  or  plain  made  by  the  windings  of  the  Coosa. 
It  was  surrounded  by  stout  palisades,  with  inner  cross-ties  and  loop-holes  for  arrows, 
having  an  east  and  a  west  gate.  Eighty  large  and  single-roomed  houses,  thatched  in 
the  Indian  manner,  stood  around  a  square.  Some  of  the  trees  about  this  enclosure 
retained  their  natural  positions,  and  were  covered  with  a  dense  foliage,  which  threw 
a  pleasing  shade  over  the  square.  It  was  an  Indian  stronghold.  De  la  Vega's 
description  is  drawn  in  a  manner  to  enhance  our  notions  of  its  means  of  defence ; 
and  he  certainly  much  overrates  the  number  of  its  Indian  defenders,  all  of  which  is 
done  with  the  view  of  magnifying  the  glory  of  the  hard  struggle  which  awaited  De 
Soto  here. 

That  one  hundred  foot  and  one  hundred  horse,  not  one  of  the  latter  of  which 
could  enter  the  town,  should  have  sustained  a  conflict  with  "  ten  thousand"  Indian 
warriors,  would  be  sufficiently  wonderful  in  itself;  yet  that  number  is  only  half  of 
the  Indian  force,  if  we  admit  La  Vega's  estimate;  but  the  Spanish  author  has  doubt 
less  greatly  exaggerated  the  strength  of  the  Creeks.  For  it  is  perceived  that  even 
the  small  force  with  De  Soto  were,  by  the  direction  of  Tuscaloosa,  encamped  "  a  bow 
shot"  outri.de  of  the  walls,  while  his  attendants  and  personal  cortege  were  assigned 
quarters  inside.  Within  the  walls  were  also  stowed  all  his  baggage,  provisions,  and 
equipage,  which  had  been  brought  in  advance  by  the  Indian  burden-carriers.  The 
rest  of  the  army,  consisting  of  some  seven  or  eight  hundred  men,  was  left  to  come  on 
by  an  easy  and,  it  seems,  very  careless  march  under  Moscoso,  the  camp-master. 

It  was  on  the  18th  of  October  (1540),  at  an  early  hour  in  the  morning,  and 
white  the  troops  were  thus  separated  and  were  in  the  act  of  adjusting  their  encamp 
ment,  that  the  war-cry  of  Tuscaloosa  broke  forth.  In  an  instant  hosts  of  Indians 
sallied  from  the  houses  where  they  had  been  concealed.  The  place  had  previously 
been  emptied  of  the  matrons  and  children,  and  the  ground  about  the  town  cleared  as 
though  for  battle.  De  Soto  and  his  attendants  were  suddenly  expelled  from  the  fort, 
and  its  gates  shut,  leaving  five  dead.  They  were  pressed  so  closely  that  many  of 
the  horsemen  could  not  get  to  their  horses,  which  were  unsaddled  and  tied  to  trees 


EUROPEAN  DISCOVERY  AND  EXPLORATION.  39 

without,  and  some  of  these  animals  were  immediately  pierced  with  arrows  and  fell 
dead.  The  Indians  were  divided  into  two  columns,  one  of  which  attacked  the  cavalry, 
and  the  other  the  footmen.  With  the  usual  Spanish  gallantry,  De  Soto  led  the 
remaining  sixty  horsemen  and  a  party  of  foot  to  storm  the  fort.  He  was  soon  joined 
by  some  few  of  Moscoso's  horse,  and  drove  back  the  assailants.  They  found  the  gate 
closed,  very  narrow,  and  well  defended,  and  were  dreadfully  annoyed  while  before  it 
by  the  arrows  which  were  shot  from  the  walls  and  loop-holes  with  amazing  force  and 
accuracy.  Some  of  De  Soto's  most  gallant  cavaliers  were  fatally  pierced  between  the 
joints  of  their  armor,  and  numbers  of  their  horses  were  killed.  In  the  mean  time, 
the  yells  of  the  Indians  were  deafening ;  they  beat  their  drums  in  loud  defiance,  and 
shook  the  spoils  they  had  taken  from  the  Spaniards  in  triumph  from  the  walls ;  and 
they  were  provided  with  stones  to  cast  on  such  as  came  too  near.  De  Soto  could  not 
maintain  his  position  beneath  the  walls,  and  was  compelled  to  retreat. 

Seeing  this,  the  courage  of  the  Indians  rose  to  the  highest  pitch  of  fury.  Their 
yells  and  wild  music  were  deafening ;  some  of  them  sallied  from  the  gates,  others  let 
themselves  down  from  the  walls  and  rushed  upon  the  Spaniards.  The  latter  kept  in 
close  and  compact  bodies,  and  returned  their  charges.  For  three  hours  they  fought 
in  this  manner,  charging  backward  and  forward  over  the  plain;  but  the  advantage  in 
point  of  numbers  killed  was  with  the  Spaniards,  who,  although  suffering  severely, 
were  cased  in  armor,  while  every  blow  was  effective  on  their  foes.  At  length  the 
Indians  withdrew  from  the  plain  and  shut  themselves  up  in  their  fortress. 

De  Soto  now  ordered  his  cavalry,  being  arrow-proof,  to  dismount,  and,  taking 
battle-axes,  to  break  open  the  gate.  By  this  time  the  remaining  horsemen  had  reached 
the  field,  and  two  hundred  cavaliers  dashed  forward  to  his  support.  The  gate  was 
soon  broken,  though  furiously  defended  by  darts  and  stones,  but  was  found  too  nar 
row  to  admit  all.  Some  rushed  in  pell-mell,  others  battered  the  rude  plastering  from 
the  walls  and  climbed  over.  The  fight  was  furious.  The  Indians  fought  from  the 
tops  of  their  houses.  They  thronged  the  square.  Lance,  club,  and  missile  were 
wielded  from  every  quarter.  The  struggle  was  so  fierce,  particularly  from  the  roofs 
of  the  houses,  that  the  Spanish  soldiers,  fearful  lest  the  Indians  should  regain  some 
houses  that  had  been  taken,  set  fire  to  them.  As  the  houses  were  constructed  of 
canes  and  other  combustible  materials,  smoke  and  flame  soon  spread  through  the 
place,  and  this  added  tenfold  to  the  horrors  of  the  scene.  Those  of  the  Indians 
whom  the  lance  and  battle-axe  spared  were  suffocated  in  the  smoke  or  leaped  over 
the  walls.  The  Indians  fought  with  desperation  ;  even  their  young  women  snatched 
up  the  swords  of  the  slaughtered  Spaniards  and  mingled  in  the  fight,  showing  more 
reckless  desperation  than  even  the  men.  The  battle,  in  all  its  phases,  lasted  for  nine 
hours.  At  length  the  Indians  gave  way.  Those  who  left  the  fort  fled  in  all  direc 
tions,  pursued  by  the  cavalry.  Those  who  were  encountered  within  the  walls  would 
neither  give  aor  take  quarter.  They  preferred  to  die  on  the  spot,  and  to  fight  till 
the  last  gasp.  Not  a  man  surrendered.  The  slaughter  was  immense.  The  Spaniards 
acknowledge  a  loss  of  eighty-two  men,  eighteen  of  whom  were  shot  in  the  eye  or 
month  with  arrows,  so  unerring  was  the  aim.  They  lost  forty-two  horses.  They  claim 


40  TSB  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

to  hare  killed  twenty-five  hundred  natives.    This  battle  appears  to  have  been  fought 
by  the  combined  forces  of  the  Creeks,  Choctaws,  and  Chickasaws.    Tuscaloosa  fell, 
but  his  name  has  been  perpetuated  to  the  present  day,  though  the  traditions  of  his 
people  do  not  reach  back  to  the  time  of  De  Soto.    So  determined  a  resistance  Do 
Soto  had  never  met  with  before.    The  feebler  Peruvians  had  shown  him  no  such 
opposition.     It  was  a  victory  dearly  purchased,  as  in  its  practical  effects  it  had  all 
the  evil  consequences  of  a  defeat    The  worst  calamity  that  had  befallen  him  was  the 
loss  of  all  his  baggage,  stores,  and  supplies.     He  had  not  even  a  scrap  of  lint  left  to 
dress  a  wound.    Clothing,  extra  equipage,  goods  which  had  been  taken  along  as  pres 
ents  to  the  Indians  or  to  repay  their  services,  were  all  consumed.     Destitution  made 
the  general  moody  and  taciturn,  and  from  this  moment  his  whole  plan  of  operations 
was  changed.     He  had  vested  his  ample  fortune,  acquired  by  the  plunder  of  Ata- 
hualpa,  in  an  adventure  which  had  signally  failed ;  visions  of  golden  empire  no 
longer  flitted  before  his  mind.    He  had  been  pushing  on  to  reach  the  sea-coast  at 
the  splendid  harbor  discovered  by  Maldonado,  and  now  named  Pensacola,  near  Per- 
dido  Bay,  where  he  supposed  that  commander  to  be  awaiting  his  arrival  with  new 
supplies  from  Spain.     He  had  fixed  on  this  as  the  capital  of  his  projected  settlement. 
He  was  now  within  less  than  a  hundred  miles  of  that  point.     But  the  battle  of 
Mauvila  had  thrown  a  dark  cloud  over  his  prospects.     There  were  murmurs  in  his 
army ;  the  men  had  lost  everything,  even  their  clothes.     He  overheard  some  of  his 
officers  expressing  the  intention  of  embarking  as  soon  as  they  reached  the  sea,  and 
returning  to  Spain.     He  determined  at  once  to  balk  this  plan,  and,  as  soon  as  the 
wounds  of  his  men  would  permit,  to  change  his  course  and  march  towards  the  north. 
To  the  north  he  therefore  wheeled  with  all  his  forces,  horse  and  foot     But  an  evil 
rumor  went  before  him.     The  stand  made  by  the  Indians  was  heralded  among  them 
as  a  triumph.     It  had  broken  the  charm  of  invincibility,  and  taught  them  the  possi 
bility  of  a  victory  even  over  the  dreaded  horse.     And  from  this  point,  wherever  he 
went,  De  Soto  encountered  nothing  but  hostility  of  the  deepest  kind.     "  War  is  what 
we  want,"  said  the  natives ;  "  a  war  of  fire  and  blood."     Such  was  his  reception  at 
all  the  various  points  at  which  he  encamped  before  reaching  the  Mississippi.    But 
from  none  of  the  tribes  did  he  encounter  so  determined  a  resistance  as  from  the 
Chickasaws.     This  tribe,  who  are  closely  allied  to  the  Choctaws,  have  maintained  a 
high  character  for  bravery  and  independence  ever  since  they  have  been  known  to 
history. 

From  Mauvila  De  Soto  took  up  the  line  of  march  across  the  Tuscaloosa  and  Tom- 
bigbee,  northwestwardly,  till  he  came  to  the  waters  of  the  Yazoo.  A  village  on  the 
Tuscaloosa,  at  the  site  of  the  present  city  of  that  name  in  Alabama,  was  abandoned 
before  him.  Little  opposition,  indeed,  was  encountered  till  he  reached  the  Tom- 
bigbee,  where  the  Indians  were  drawn  up  in  force  on  its  northern  banks  to  oppose  his 
crossing.  A  messenger  who  was  despatched  with  offers  of  peace  was  massacred  in  De 
Solo's  sight,  the  Indians  then  fleeing  with  loud  shouts  of  triumph.  Boats  were  con 
structed  in  two  days  to  cross  the  wide  stream,  after  which  the  army  marched  on,  still 
northwestwardly,  crossing  the  fertile  uplands  of  Mississippi,  till  they  reached  a  village 


EUROPEAN  DISCOVERY  AND  EXPLORATION.  41 

called  "  Chicaza."  This  stood,  apparently,  on  the  banks  of  the  Yazoo.  It  was  now 
the  18th  of  December,  an  entire  month  after  the  army  had  left  the  smoking  ruins  of 
Mauvila.  The  bleakness  of  autumn  characterized  the  forest,  and  the  season  began 
to  exhibit  a  degree  of  cold  before  which  the  men  shrunk.  De  Soto  had  not  many 
days  left  the  country  of  the  Choctaws,  and  now  entered  on  that  of  the  Chickasaws. 
The  enemy  vanished  before  him,  and  when  pressed  by  the  cavalry  retired  into  reedy 
thickets  and  positions  where  they  could  not  be  followed.  On  entering  the  Chickasaw 
village  it  was  found  completely  deserted.  There  were  some  two  hundred  wigwams, 
occupying  a  gentle  hill  covered  with  oaks  and  walnuts,  having  a  stream  on  each  side. 
It  was  a  favorable  position  for  an  encampment,  and  De  Soto  determined  to  occupy  it 
for  his  winter  quarters.  For  this  purpose  he  caused  other  and  larger  buildings  to  be 
erected  with  wood  and  straw  brought  from  neighboring  hamlets.  For  two  months  he 
reposed  in  these  quarters,  sending  out,  however,  almost  daily,  foraging  and  scouting 
parties  into  the  adjacent  forests. 

At  length  the  thought  to  burn  the  encampment  appears  to  have  entered  the  minds 
of  the  Chickasjxws,  and  well  did  they  conceal  their  plan  till  they  could  carry  it  into 
effect.  For  several  nights  previously  they  had  made  feigned  night-attacks  on  the 
camp,  as  if,  by  the  frequency  of  these  alarms,  to  throw  the  Spaniards  off  their  guard ; 
in  the  course  of  which  time,  however,  the  rapacity  and  lawlessness  of  the  soldiers 
brought  the  commander  into  serious  difficulties.  A  dark  and  wild  night  was  chosen 
by  the  Indians  for  the  attack,  when  the  wind  was  blowing  strongly  from  the  north. 
They  came  on  in  three  parties,  moving  cautiously,  and  choosing  the  intervening 
spaces  between  the  sentinels  to  penetrate  the  camp.  They  carried  live  embers  in 
covered  clay  jars,  and  in  separate  places  set  fire  to  the  light  combustible  materials  of 
which  the  wigwams  and  barracks  were  made.  The  wind  soon  blew  up  a  flame,  which, 
being  fed  by  the  dry  straw  mats,  raged  with  fierceness.  It  was  in  the  darkest  part 
of  the  night,  and  the  soldiers,  suddenly  aroused  from  their  slumbers  by  a  terrible 
outcry,  were  half  bewildered.  Some  of  them  at  first  took  to  the  woods,  but,  being 
recalled,  joined  iu  the  fight,  and  as  day  broke  the  assailants  were  chased  into  the 
woods,  and  the  army  kept  its  ground. 

De  Soto,  who  always  slept  on  his  arms,  at  least  "  in  doublet  and  hose,"  fought 
valiantly,  and  was  well  sustained  by  his  principal  officers  and  men.  But  this  mid 
night  attack  turned  out  to  be  more  disastrous  than  even  the  terrible  battle  of  Mauvila. 
On  account  of  the  suddenness  of  the  flames,  some  of  the  men  had  barely  time  to 
leap  out  with  their  lives,  leaving  a  part  of  their  arms  and  equipments.  Swords  and 
lances  required  to  be  retempered,  for  which  purpose  a  forge  was  built.  Many  of 
the  saddles  were  burnt,  and  much  of  the  furniture  of  the  houses  consumed.  Forty 
Spaniards  had  fallen  in  the  combat.  The  only  Spanish  woman  in  the  army — a  sol 
dier's  wife — was  burned  to  death.  Fifty  horses  had  perished,  either  by  the  dart  or 
by  the  fire,  as  it  was  impossible  in  the  melee  to  untie  them  from  the  pickets,  and  many 
more  were  wounded.  Another  grievous  loss  was  that  of  the  swine  that  had  been 
brought  as  an  element  in  the  contemplated  agricultural  settlement.  They  had  been 
penned,  and  nearly  all  of  them  perished  in  the  fire. 

ii— 6 


42  fHS  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

This  disastrous  battle,  following  BO  soon  after  the  conflict  at  Mauvila,  was  enough 
to  appall  the  stoutest  heart.  Yet  it  was  amazing  with  what  energy  the  Spaniards  set 
to  work  to  repair  their  losses.  In  three  days  they  had  established  a  new  camp  within 
a  league  of  the  old  site,  to  which  De  Soto  gave  the  name  of  Chicacilla,  or  Little 
Chickasaw.  Not  only  were  their  armorers  put  to  work  in  repairing  their  arms,  but 
while  they  remained  in  this  position,  which  was  during  the  rest  of  the  winter,  they 
made  sadd'les,  shields,  and  lances.  Here  they  suffered  greatly  from  cold  and  the  want 
of  suitable  clothing  antT bedding;  for  the  conflagration  had  left  them  nothing  but 
what  they  had  on  their  backs.  It  was  the  1st  of  April  (1541)  before  De  Soto  was 
ready  to  quit  his  encampment  But  it  was-only  to  encounter  new  opposition.  The 
hostile  spirit  of  the  Indians  seemed  to  be  deeply  and  generally  aroused  in  every 
direction.  An  easy  march  of  four  leagues,  through  open  plains  with  deserted  ham 
lets,  brought  them  in  sight  of  a  strongly-stockaded  fort,  called  Alabama  (situated  on 
the  banks  of  a  stream),  which  was  carried  by  assault  after  a  desperate  resistance.  In 
this  contest  the  Spaniards  had  many  men  wounded,  of  whom  fifteen  died ;  and 
although  they  killed  great  numbers  of  the  Indians,  those  who  remained  were  in  no 
wise  humbled,  and  never  omitted  an  opportunity  to  fall  upon  their  enemies  when  they 
could  do  so  to  advantage.  They  seemed  to  be  very  accurate  and  powerful  marksmen 
with  the  arrow,  this  deadly  weapon  being  sometimes  driven  with  such  force  as  to  pass 
entirely  through  the  body  of  a  horse.  After  a  halt  of  four  days  to  attend  to  their 
wounded  and  dead,  the  Spaniards  again  set  forward,  marching  through  tangled  and 
dense  forests  and  waters,  till  they  came  to  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi,  which  they 
appear  to  have  struck  at  the  lower  Chickasaw  Bluffs,  in  north  latitude  about  32°. 
This  discovery  was  the  grand  and  crowning  event  of  De  Soto's  expedition,  and  this 
alone  is  destined  to  carry  his  name  to  the  latest  times.  Mines  of  gold  and  silver  had 
indeed  eluded  his  grasp,  but  by  the  discovery  of  this  great  artery  of  the  North 
American  continent  he  had  found  the  highway  that  was  destined,  in  after-years,  to 
carry  down  agricultural  products  of  far  greater  value  to  the  commerce  of  the  world 
than  the  wealth  borne  by  the  proudest  streams  of  antiquity.  In  comparison  with 
this  wealth,  the  rich  product  of  the  mines  of  Mexico  and  Potosi  shines  with  dimin 
ished  lustre.  Already  twenty  States  of  the  American  Union  cluster  on  that  mightv 
stream  and  its  innumerable  branches, — States  containing  many  times  the  population 
of  the  dominions  of  old  Spain,  the  nation  whose  proud  banners  were  the  first  to  be 
displayed  on  its  banks. 

The  village  that  was  seated  here  was  called  Chisca.  Its  chief  had  his  lodgment 
on  a  high  artificial  mound.  The  army,  impatient  of  the  continual  attacks  they  had 
encountered,  immediately  rushed  into  the  village  and  carried  it  by  assault,  making 
prisoners  of  the  women  and  children.  By  this  means  the  Spanish  leader  held  in 
his  hands  hostages  for  good  conduct,  and  he  succeeded,  after  full  negotiation,  in 
concluding  a  peace. 

On  this  elevated  and  eligible  spot,  De  Soto  rested  for  twenty  days,  while  engaged 
in  making  preparations  to  cross  that  magnificent  stream  and  pursue  his  explorations 
to  the  west  of  it  in  the  direction  of  the  Pacific  Ocean.  By  a  very  devious  line  of 


EUROPEAN  DISCOVERY  AND  EXPLORATION.  43 

march  he  had  traversed  the  area  of  the  present  States  of  Florida,  Georgia,  South 
Carolina,  Alabama,  Mississippi,  Louisiana,  and  Tennessee,  and  at  every  point  had 
encountered  either  an  open  or  secret  enmity  from  the  Indians,  especially  from  the 
Muskokis,  Choctaws,  and  Chickasaws,  who  had  fought  with  unexampled  ferocity. 
Trihes  which  had  formerly  been  at  variance  united  to  repel  this  formidable  invasion. 
They  were,  ethrologically  speaking,  branches  of  one  great  stock.  During  the  pre 
vious  twenty-five  years  they  had  acquired  bitter  experience  of  Spanish  invasion,  and 
hence  hated  the  race  with  such  intensity  that  they  determined  to  die  rather  than 
surrender  the  country. 

The  Spaniard  had  learned  from  hard  experience  that  his  incessant  conflicts  with 
the  Indians,  though  he  might  kill  double  or  treble  his  numbers,  had  an  inevitable 
tendency  to  weaken  his  forces,  exhaust  his  means,  and  dispirit  his  men.  He  had  lost 
some  of  his  best  troops,  nearly  half  of  his  noblest  horses,  and  all  his  baggage;  and 
after  his  most  chivalric  battles  victory  only  gave  him  empty  towns  or  unbroken 
forests.  The  natural  magnificence  of  the  country  kept  up  his  hopes  while  marching 
from  encampment  to  encampment,  but  it  was  only  the  magnificence  of  wood*-,  forests, 
and  waters.  The  land  was  occupied  by  a  poor,  brave,  and  hardy  race,  who  were 
determined  to  sell  their  lives  at  the  dearest  rate,  since  they  had  never  submitted  to 
the  yoke  of  a  conqueror.  Thus  he  had  found  that  every  victory  tended  to  exhaust 
him,  and  that  his  army  must  at  last  melt  away  and  be  subdued  by  a  continuation  of 
such  victories. 

While  De  Soto  recruited  his  army  on  the  high  and  beautiful  elevation  of  the 
Chickasaw  Bluffs,  and  restored  to  some  extent  its  failing  strength,  every  means  which 
an  able  commander  could  adopt  was  resorted  to  for  further  repairing  his  losses. 
Forges  were  erected,  where  the  swords  and  spears  of  his  soldiers  were  retempered. 
Buckskin  was  employer'  in  repairing  the  burnt  saddles  and  accoutrements.  The 
horses  regained  their  strength  when  pastured  on  the  rich  prairie  grass,  and  all  the 
arms  were  reburnished.  Once  more  the  squadrons  of  De  Soto  were  able  to  assume 
a  martial  bearing.  Plumes  nodded  and  glittering  steel  again  flashed  before  the  eyes 
of  the  wondering  natives.  The  gallant  men  and  fine  horses  lost  at  Mauvila,  at  Fort 
Alabama,  on  the  Yazoo,  and  at  Chickaza  were  for  the  moment  forgotten,  and  the 
chivalric  character  of  the  Spaniard  shone  forth  with  renewed  lustre  as  he  marched 
down  to  the  margin  of  the  Mississippi  and  prepared  to  pass  that  boundary  which  he 
was  destined  never  again  to  recross,  but,  like  another  Alaric,  to  make  its  bed  his 
mausoleum.  The  month  of  May  had  but  just  manifested  its  arrival  by  its  mild  airs, 
and  the  expanding  vegetation,  combined  with  the  increased  flow  of  the  waters,  served 
to  give  life  and  animation  to  the  scene.  The  river  was  judged  to  be  half  a  league  in 
width,  but  deep  and  swift,  carrying  down  on  its  surface  uprooted  trees  and  flood- 
wood.  He  effected  a  passage  without  molestation,  and  two  hours  before  sunset  his 
whole  force  was  safely  across,  and  he  thus  turned  his  back  on  the  fierce  Appalachian 
tribes  who  had  so  stoutly  opposed  him.  Here,  then,  was  the  first  expedition  to  pene 
trate  that  mighty  and  unconquerable  West,  whicu  has  for  three  centuries  continued 
to  be  the  theatre  of  geographical  explorations  conducted  by  the  Spanish.  French,  and 


44  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Americans.  It  was  not,  indeed,  till  1806,  under  the  conduct  of  Lewis  and  Clarke, 
that  De  Soto's  object  was  finally  attained,  the  Cordilleras  of  the  Rocky  Mountains 
scaled,  and  the  Pacific  shores  reached.  He  immediately  made  arrangements  to  put 
his  columns  in  motion  for  the  high  grounds.  But  his  position  was  one  of  embarrass 
ment.  He  had  rid  himself  of  the  Chickasaws  and  their  affiliated  tribes  on  the  east 
banks  of  the  river,  but  was  surrounded  by  other  Indians  of  even  more  savage  char 
acter  and  actuated  by  a  still  fiercer  spirit  of  enmity.  Their  language,  also,  being 
entirely  different,  Ortez  could  no  longer  make  himself  understood,  and  the  tedious- 
ness  and  difficulty  of  communicating  with  the  Indians  may  be  imagined  when  we 
learn  that  at  times  four  different  interpreters  had  to  be  employed  at  once  in  the 
business  of  translating  a  single  communication.  These  tribes  were  of  the  Issati  or 
Dakota  lineage.  Dense  forests,  rearing  their  towering  growth  on  swampy  lands, 
surrounded  him,  but  onward  he  marched,  following  the  Indian  footpath. 

De  Soto  was  a  man  not  to  be  daunted  by  ordinary  obstacles.  After  five  days' 
march,  partly  through  lagoons,  he  reached  the  highlands  of  Missouri ;  and  here 
he  found  himself  surrounded  by  the  Casque,  who  are  supposed  to  have  been  the  Kas- 
'  kaskias  of  the  Algonkin  group, — a  people  who,  on  the  settlement  of  Illinois  by  the 
French,  were  found  entirely  east  of  the  Mississippi.  He  here  fell  into  a  mistake 
similar  to  that  which  he  had  made  in  his  march  to  Cofachique  in  relation  to  the 
Uchees.  The  Kaskaskias  received  him  with  friendship,  glad  to  find  an  ally  who 
might  sustain  them  in  a  war  with  a  neighboring  tribe.  They  accompanied  him  in 
great  force  against  their  enemies  the  Capaha  (Quappaws  or  Arkansas),  under  the  pre 
text  of  aiding  in  carrying  the  baggage  and  acting  as  scouts  and  pioneers ;  but  they 
had  no  sooner  reached  the  vicinity  of  their  enemies  than  they  pushed  ahead  of  the 
Spaniards  and  fell  without  mercy  on  the  hostile  tribe,  killing  and  scalping  all  they 
met  wit\  and  plundering  the  previously  deserted  village. 

This  action  cost  De  Soto  a  war.  He  attacked  the  Quappaw  tribe  in  a  stronghold 
on  an  island  to  which  they  fled  in  the  Mississippi,  where  he  was  deserted  by  his  allies. 
His  new  enemies  belonged  to  a  different  group  of  the  aborigines,  who  are  known  to 
us,  ethnologically,  as  the  Dakotas, — the  nomades  of  the  Western  prairies.  From 
this  attack  he  withdrew  with  difficulty.  While  at  the  Capaha  village,  he  sent  mes 
sengers  westward  to  inquire  into  the  truth  of  rumors  of  mineral  wealth,  but  the 
messengers  found  nothing  but  copper.  They,  however,  penetrated  into  the  Western 
plains,  and  discovered  the  buffalo.  He  then  returned  to  Casque,  on  the  St.  Francis,  a 
large  village  with  abundance  of  food,  where  he  remained  many  days  to  recruit  his 
army.  He  then  marched  south,  but  soon,  hearing  reports  of  mineral  wealth  at  the 
north,  countermarched  to  the  wild  granitic  regions  on  the  sources  of  the  St  Francis. 
He  was  at  this  time  in  the  granite  tract  of  St.  Michael's,  Missouri,  celebrated  for  its 
volcanic  upheavals  and  pinnacles  of  azoic  rocks,  its  iron  mountains,  its  lead-mines, 
and  its  ores  of  cobalt  This  was  the  highest  northern  point  west  of  the  Mississippi 
River  reached  by  him.  He  sent  out  runners  to  the  salt  country  and  to  the  buffalo 
country.  He  ranged  through  the  Ozark  Mountains  and  the  defiles  of  White  River. 
Reports  of  new  and  tempting  mineral  regions  in  the  south  soon  led  him  in  search 


EUROPEAN  DISCOVERT  AND  EXPLORATION.  45 

of  a  country  called  Cayas.  He  crossed  the  Unica  or^UQiite  River  at  Tanico,  and 
allowed  his  troops  to  rest  for  twenty  days  in  a  fine  valley  at  a  place  called  Tula. 
The  Indian  residents  of  this  place  were  "  ill-fuvored,  tattooed,  and  ferocious."  The 
army  then  marched  five  days  towards  the  west,  over  an  elevated,  uninhabited  region, 
comprising  the  hroad  and  rugged  district  of  the  modern  Ozark  Mountains.  Beyond 
this  broken  chain  De  Soto  entered  the  country  of  the  Quipano  (Pani,  or  Pawnee), 
which  has  a  comparatively  level  surface.  A  few  days'  farther  march  westward,  and 
he  found  himself  in  a  territory  abounding  in  game,  well  supplied  with  grass,  and 
dotted  over  with  prairies.  Having  discovered  the  Arkansas  River,  he  determined  to 
establish  his  winter-quarters  near  that  stream.  Ordering  stalls  to  be  constructed  for 
his  horses,  and  a  regular  encampment  to  be  formed,  on  this  spot  he  passed  the  winter 
of  1541-42.  The  site  of  this  camp  appears  to  have  been  on  the  banks  of  the  Neosho, 
and  was  in  the  midst  of  beautiful  natural  meadows. 

When  spring  had  opened  sufficiently  to  warrant  him  in  moving  forward,  he  pro 
ceeded  down  the  Arkansas,  crossing  that  stream  near  the  present  site  of  Van  Buren, 
or  Fort  Smith,  and  following  its  southern  plains  down  to  Little  Rock,  where  he  again 
crossed  to  the  north,  and  directed  his  course  along  the  banks  of  the  stream  till  he 
reached  its  mouth.  He  was  greatly  embarrassed  in  this  march  by  a  deep  inlet  of 
White  River. 

He  selected  a  site  on  the  eastern  banks  of  the  Mississippi  for  the  capital  of  a 
Spanish  colony,  in  the  territory  of  a  people  who  were  sun-worshippers,  and  who 
were,  judging  by  their  language  and  religion,  the  Natchez.  This  tribe,  who  appear 
to  have  occupied  a  higher  position  on  the  Mississippi  than  they  were  found  to  possess 
at  the  period  of  the  settlement  of  Louisiana,  were  called  Quigualtangui.  They 
manifested  the  deepest  hostility,  and  ridiculed  the  idea  of  De  Soto's  being  a  child  of 
the  sun, — an  idea  which  he  had  thrown  out  in  his  message  to  them  requiring  submis 
sion  to  his  arms.  "  If  you  are  a  child  of  the  sun,"  was  the  haughty  reply,  "  return 
to  him,  dry  up  the  Mississippi,  and  we  will  submit  to  you." 

Being  in  a  feeble  state  of  health,  and  a  fever  beginning  to  prostrate  him,  De  Soto 
encamped,  and  calmly  prepared  for  his  approaching  end.  After  having  appointed 
Moscoso,  his  camp-master,  to  succeed  him,  De  Soto  died,  surrounded  by  his  officers, 
who  had  followed  him  through  scenes  of  danger  and  trial  over  nearly  half  the  con 
tinent  of  North  America,  On  the  last  day  of  May,  1542,  he  calmly  yielded  up  his 
spirit.  At  first  his  body  was  interred  in  the  vicinity,  great  precautions  being  taken 
to  conceal  the  spot,  lest  the  Indians  should  exhume  and  mutilate  his  remains.  Finally 
his  followers  placed  the  corpse  in  the  hollowed  trunk  of  a  tree,  which  they  conveyed 
in  a  boat  at  midnight  to  the  centre  of  the  Mississippi  River  and  sunk  beneath  its 
turbid  waters. 

With  the  death  of  De  Soto  the  intrepid  daring  and  noble  emulation  which  had 
been  called  into  action  by  his  master  mind  began  to  flag ;  but,  though  the  enterprise 
was  in  reality  crushed,  the  fact  did  not  immediately  appear. 

As  soon  as  the  funeral  rites  were  finished,  Moscoso  prepared  to  lead  a  new  expe 
dition  towards  the  west  He  ascended  the  southern  banks  of  the  Arkansas,  directing 


46  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

his  course  in  a  southwesterly  direction  across  the  Washita  and  the  smaller  affluents 
of  the  Arkansas  and  Bed  Rivers.  He  encountered  the  most  determined  opposition 
from  all  the  tribes  he  met  They  fought  with  a  desperation  which  was  extraordi 
nary,  and  were  repulsed  with  that  chivalrous  and  dashing  bravery  which  charac 
terized  the  entire  operations  of  the  expedition.  He  eventually  reached  the  buffalo 
plains  which  stretch  from  the  Canadian  River  to  the  sources  of  the  Red  River.  It 
had  been  expected  that  they  should  somewhere  in  this  vicinity  meet  parties  of 
Spanish  military  explorers  from  the  south ;  but  this  hope  was  at  last  relinquished, 
and  the  army  retraced  its  steps  to  the  mouth  of  the  Arkansas  amid  great  perils  and 
with  unparalleled  toil. 

To  found  a  colony  at  a  point  so  remote  from  the  sea,  with  the  crippled  and  inade 
quate  means  in  their  possession,  and  in  the  face  of  the  active  hostility  of  all  the  Indian 
tribes  both  east  and  west  of  that  stream,  appeared  to  be  a  project  so  impracticable 
that  Moscoso  resolved  to  build  boats  and  descend  the  Mississippi  to  its  mouth.  As 
soon  as  they  were  completed,  the  whole  force  embarked,  the  hordes  being  placed  in 
long  narrow  boats,  with  their  fore  feet  in  one  and  their  hind  feet  in  another.  The 
'Indians  exulted  on  seeing  the  Spaniards  making  preparations  to  leave  their  country, 
and,  embarking  in  their  canoes,  pursued  the  retiring  troops  with  the  utmost  boldness 
and  energy.  The  retreating  forces  were  often  obliged  to  deploy  and  defend  them 
selves,  and  in  these  skirmishes  the  Spaniards  suffered  severely.  The  armor  of  the 
soldiers  was  proof  against  the  arrows  of  the  foe,  but  the  flanks  of  the  horses  were 
exposed,  so  that  these  noble  animals  were  thinned  off'  day  by  day,  until,  on  arriving 
at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  there  was  not  a  single  horse  left  alive. 

As  soon  as  Moscoso  entered  the  gulf,  he  steered  for  the  coast  of  Panuca,  where  he 
finally  arrived,  after  encountering  great  perils  both  from  the  warring  elements  and 
from  the  disagreement  of  the  pilots.  Thus  terminated  an  expedition  which  had  been 
organized  with  extraordinary  splendor,  and  the  members  of  which  comprised  some 
of  the  ablest  and  most  chivalrous  officers  of  the  age.  Nearly  three  years  had  been 
spent  in  traversing  the  immense  tract  of  wilderness  intervening  between  the  penin 
sula  of  Florida  and  the  plains  of  Arkansas.  Everywhere  the  Indians  had  been 
found  to  be  inimical  to  the  Spanish  race,  and  had  manifested  the  most  heroic  spirit 
in  repelling  the  invaders. 

The  track  of  De  Soto  west  of  the  Mississippi  is  outlined  more  fully  by  Mr. 
Schoolcraft  as  follows : 

After  crossing  at  the  lower  Chickasaw  Bluffs,  he  marched  five  days  on  an  Indian 
trail  over  the  alluvions  of  the  Mississippi,  west  to  the  hill-country  of  the  St.  Francis, 
and  reached  the  site  of  Casque,  very  probably  a  location  of  the  Illinois  Indians 
(Kaskaskias).  He  followed  the  wily  chief  of  this  village  northeastwardly  against 
his  enemies  the  Capahas  (Quappaws),  on  a  bayou  of  the  Mississippi,  difficult  to 
approach  from  that  quarter.  This  was  probably  some  seventy  miles  above  his 
original  crossing-point  He  then  returned  southwest  to  Casque,  and  thence  marched 
south  to  Quiguate,  probably  near  Black  River.  Hearing  fresh  reports  of  mineral 
wealth,  he  now  marched  northwest  to  Coligoa,  near  the  source  of  the  St  Francis,  in 


EUROPEAN  DISCOVERY  AND  EXPLORATION.  47 

latitude  about  35°  3CK  or  36°.  This  was  his  utmost  northern  point.  He  was  now  at 
the  foot  of  the  high  granitic  peaks  of  St.  Francis  County,  Missouri,  celebrated  in 
modern  days  for  its  Iron  Mountains  and  the  lead  and  cobalt  mines  of  Mine  La  Motte. 
He  then  marched  south  in  search  of  a  rich  province  called  Cayas  (Kansas),  and  prob 
ably  crossed  the  White  River  Valley  at  Tanico.  He  thence  crossed  a  hill  country 
to  Tula,  in  the  fine  valley  of  Buffalo  Creek.  Recruiting  at  this  place  for  twenty 
days,  he  passed  an  uninhabited  region  for  five  days,  going  west  over  elevations  of 
the  Ozark  chain,  and  came  to  fertile  prairies  beyond,  inhabited  by  Indians  called 
Quipano  (Pani,  or  Pawnee).  A  few  days'  farther  march  brought  him  to  the  banks 
of  the  Arkansas,  near  the  Neosho,  very  likely  at  a  point  about  the  present  site  of 
Fort  Gibson.  Here,  in  a  fruitful  country  of  meadows,  he  wintered.  Next  spring 
he  marched  down  the  north  banks  of  the  Arkansas  to  a  point  opposite  the  present 
Fort  Smith,  where  he  crossed  in  a  beat  He  then  descended  the  south  bank  of  the 
river  to  Anilco  (Little  Rock),  where  the  army  crossed  to  the  north  bank,  partly  on 
rafts,  and  reached  the  mouth  of  the  Arkansas,  where  he  died. 


. 


CHAPTER   VL 

COBONADO*  EXPEDITION  INTO  NEW  MEXICO— THE  ZUffl,  MOQDI,  NAVAJOE,  AND 

COGNATE  TRIBES. 

• 

THE  year  1519  was  one  of  deep  interest  in  the  fortunes  of  the  Gila,  Rio  del 
Norte,  and  Colorado  Indians.  Florida  had  been  known  nine  years,  when  an  event 
occurred  of  the  greatest  interest  in  the  history  of  the  continent  This  was  no  other 
than  the  discovery  of  Mexico.  The  empire  of  Montezuma,  which  had  been  founded 
(according  to  tradition)  on  that  of  the  Toltecs,  had  that  year  reached  its  culminating 
point  When  Cortez  landed  on  the  Mexican  shores,  judging  from  the  ordinary 
course  of  things,  he  appeared  more  likely  to  serve,  with  his  few  followers,  as  an 
offering  to  Huitzilopochtli,  the  war-god  of  the  country,  than  to  conquer  it  and  bring 
it  into  subjection  to  diaries  V.  Yet  in  two  years  he  was  master  of  the  empire.  He 
had  during  that  period  entered  Mexico  the  first  time,  turned  upon  Narvaez  and 
defeated  him,  founded  the  city  of  Vera  Cruz,  and  re-entered  Mexico  with  the  con 
quered  troops,  levelling  its  walls  as  he  advanced;  and  he  was  scon  heralded  in  Spain 
as  a  hero,  and  urged  his  claims  at  the  Spanish  court  for  rewards,  as  if  he  had 
performed  feats  worthy  of  a  Hannibal  or  a  Scipio. 

Of  the  conquest  we  have  only  to  remark  that  it  exposed  the  tribes  of  the  present 
enlarged  area  of  the  United  States  north  of  the  line  of  the  Gila  and  west  of  the  Rio 
Grande  del  Norte  to  invasion.  This  result  followed  the  taking  of  Mexico  within 
the  period  of  twenty  years.  It  was  resolved  in  1530  to  make  New  Spain  a  vice- 
royalty,  and,  after  some  delay  in  finding  a  suitable  person,  Mendoza  was  appointed 
to  the  chief  office  by  the  Spanish  court  He  reached  the  city  of  Mexico  in  1535, 
bringing  a  printing-press, — the  first,  it  is  believed,  ever  brought  to  the  American 
continent  Under  his  wise,  energetic,  yet  calm  and  beneficent  rule,  the  disorders  of 
the  country  were  remedied,  various  insurrections  were  quelled,  and  the  reign  of  law 
was  fully  established. 

It  so  happened  that  in  the  course  of  a  few  years  a  Franciscan  missionary  named 
Marcos  de  Niza,  who  had  visited  the  country  north  of  Sonora,  reported  that  he  had 
discovered  a  populous  and  rich  kingdom  called  Quivera,  or  the  Seven  Cities,  abounding 
in  gold,  the  capital  of  which  was  named  Cibola.  Towards  Cibola,  therefore,  all  eyes 
were  directed. 

The  enthusiasm  of  all  who  credited  the  story  of  De  Niza  received  a  new  impulse, 
and  large  accessions  were  made  to  the  number  of  believers,  from  the  accounts  given 
by  Cabeca  de  Vaca  of  the  Indian  tribes  he  hud  seen  during  his  extraordinary  peregri 
nations,  extended  through  a  term  of  eight  or  nine  years,  between  the  point  where  he 

was  wrecked  £n  the  Florida  coast  and  New  Galicia  on  the  Pacific.    Not  only  did  his 
48 


EUROPEAN  DISCOVERY  AND  EXPLORATION.  49 

presence  in  Spain  give  origin  to  the  expedition  of  De  Soto,  but  also  at  the  same  time 
to  the  almost  equally  renowned  one  organized  by  Mendozu,  the  viceroy  of  Mexico, 
and  placed  under  the  command  of  Coronado.  This  expedition  had  been  preceded 
by  one  sent  out  by  Guzman,  the  governor  of  New  Galicia,  in  search  of  the  seven 
cities  of  Cil>ola;  but  this  party  penetrated  no  farther  than  Culiacan,  whence  it 
returned  on  account  of  the  difficulties  attending  the  enterprise.  This  effort  only 
tended  to  stimulate  the  equipment  of  a  more  formidable  organization  by  the 
viceroy. 

AH  a  preliminary  step,  Mendoza  despatched  DC  Niza,  with  two  other  friars  and  a 
competent  military  escort,  into  the  region,  taking  Estevan,  a  negro  who  had  accom 
panied  Cabcca  dc  Vaca,  as  a  guide.  On  reaching  Culiacan,  on  the  borders  of  the 
country,  they  rested  u  few  days,  and  prepared  themselves  with  further  information. 
Estevan,  evincing  the  impatience  natural  to  his  African  blood  to  participate  in  the 
first  advantages  of  the  anticipated  discoveries,  in  his  great  eagerness  to  reach  the 
place,  preceded  the  three  friars  with  a  few  Indians.  He  crossed  the  Gila,  and, 
hurrying  over  the  desert,  which  was  without  an  inhabitant,  reached  the  valley  of 
Cibola,  where  they  found  the  first  town,  while  De  Niza  and  his  two  companions  were 
still  sixty  leagues  in  the  rear.  He  made  haste  to  present  himself  before  the  caciques 
of  the  town,  of  whom  lie  insolently  demanded  their  gold  and  their  wives.  On 
hearing  this  audacious  demand,  unsupported  as  it  was  by  any  power  to  enforce  it, 
the  chiefs  questioned  him  closely  as  to  his  authority  for  making  it.  Judging  from 
his  replies  that  he  was  a  spy  from  a  party  on  its  march  to  invade  their  country,  they 
decided,  after  a  short  consultation,  to  put  him  to  death,  and  immediately  carried  this 
decision  into  effect.  When  De  Niza  and  his  companions  heard  of  this,  they  at  once 
returned  to  Compostella;  and  thus  ended  the  second  attempt  to  reach  the  kingdom 
of  the  seven  cities. 

But  a  golden  lie  is  not  easily  put  down.  It  was  an  age  in  which  nothing  but 
wonders  would  be  believed.  Golden  Indian  provinces  were  constantly  in  the  Spanish 
mind,  and  the  friar  De  Niza,  when  he  had  reached  Compostella,  determined  not  to 
be  behindhand  in  fanning  the  fires  of  expectation.  He  went  to  Mexico,  and  in  an 
interview  with  Mendoza  not  only  confirmed  him  in  his  ideas  of  golden  regions  north 
of  the  Gila,  but  published  a  description  of  his  tour,  in  which,  according  to  Caste- 
flada,  he  gave  the  most  alluring  account  of  a  country  respecting  which  he  found  the 
popular  impression  so  high. 

Mendoza  thereupon  determined  to  hasten  an  expedition  to  explore  and  conquer 
the  country  and  thus  add  it  to  the  already  large  acquisitions  made  under  the  banners 
of  Charles  V.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the  history  of  the  intendency  of  New 
Mexico.  To  lead  this  expedition  he  finally  named  Francisco  Vasquez  Coronado,  the 
successor  of  De  Guzman  as  governor  of  New  Galicia. 

It  was  only  necessary  to  announce  such  a  design  from  the  viceregal  court  at 
Mexico  to  attract  adventurers  from  every  quarter.  Indeed,  such  was  the  enthusiasm 
evinced  on  this  occasion  that  men  of  the  highest  rank  sought  eagerly  for  even  sub 
ordinate  places  in  the  expedition.  Of  a  force  of  three  hundred  men,  it  is  said  by 

ii— 7 
-. 


60  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Castefiada  that  there  never  was  an  expedition  organized  in  America  which  had  such 
a  proportion  of  gentry. 

Mendoza  himself  repaired  to  Compostella  to  review  the  troops,  and  accompanied 
them  two  days'  march  on  their  way.  Eight  hundred  Indians  (doubtless  glad  to  be 
fed)  immediately  joined  this  little  army  of  cavaliers.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  this 
expedition  set  out  at  the  same  time  that  De  Soto  was  traversing  Florida,  and  that 
it  had  actually  reached  the  Gila  when  he  crossed  the  Mississippi.  At  Chiametta, 
Coronado  met  De  Niza,  who  had  been  appointed  guide  to  the  expedition,  and  who, 
with  a  dozen  men,  had  been  despatched  in  advance.  These  men  had  penetrated 
to  Chichiticale,  two  hundred  leagues  from  Culiacan.  De  Niza's  companions  reported 
secretly  that  the  country  was  nearly  a  desert.  This  wa*>  soon  whispered  about,  and 
greatly  dispirited  many ;  but  Fray  de  Niza  endeavored  to  reanimate  the  desponding 
by  telling  them  that  the  country  seen  by  the  officers  was  "  good,"  and  that  he  would 
guide  them  to  rich  provinces. 

On  reaching  Chichiticale,  of  which  so  much  had  been  boasted,  Coronado  found  a 
single  roofless  and  ruinous  house,  which  had  been  built  of  "  red  earth,"  surrounded 
by  the  remains  of  a  population  which  had  evident  claims  to  be  regarded  as  belonging 
to  a  higher  type  of  civilization  than  any  of  the  existing  tribes.  The  army  soon 
entered  the  desert  north  of  the  Gila,  and  spent  a  fortnight  in  traversing  it  After 
eight  leagues'  farther  march,  they  came  to  a  river,  on  the  banks  of  which  they  soon 
after  reached  the  long-sought  Cibola.  It  was  a  small  town,  built  on  a  high  rock,  and 
containing  not  over  two  hundred  warriors.  The  houses  were  terraced  in  three  or 
four  stories,  with  a  narrow  and  steep  ascent.  They  were  now  probably  at  the  old 
town  of  Zufii.  They,  immediately  assaulted  it,  sword  in  hand,  but  were  opposed  by 
the  casting  down  of  stones,  one  of  which  knocked  down  Coronado.  An  hour's 
struggle,  however,  gave  them  the  place.  The  country  was  one  of  those  picturesque 
regions  of  remarkable  geologic  formation  so  common  in  that  part  of  New  Mexico. 
It  gave  them  provisions,  but  no  gold.  There  was  such  an  utter  disappointment  in 
this  respect  that  it  was  not  without  a  strong  effort  that  Fray  de  Niza  could  be  pro 
tected  from  the  rage  of  the  disappointed  soldiery,  and  he  was  soon  sent  off  secretly 
for  his  own  security. 

Coronado  made  his  head-quarters  at  Cibola,  and  sent  out  various  expeditions  into 
the  adjacent  regions :  he  also  despatched  invitations  to  the  Indians  to  come  in  and 
establish  friendly  relations  with  him.  These  told  him,  apparently  to  rid  themselves 
of  such  a  guest,  of  a  province  of  seven  towns,  called  Tusayan,  twenty-five  leagues  dis 
tant,  the  people  of  which  were  represented  as  living  in  high  houses  and  being  very 
valiant.  The  course  is  not  mentioned,  but,  judging  from  subsequent  events,  it  must 
have  been  generally  west.  He  despatched  Don  Pedro  de  Tobar,  with  seventeen  horse 
men,  four  foot-soldiers,  and  a  friar,  to  explore  it  On  reaching  it,  they  found  the 
Indians  in  possession  of  cultivated  fields.  As  soon  as  they  were  aware  of  the  presence 
of  an  enemy,  they  assembled  in  a  body,  armed  with  arrows,  clubs,  and  bucklers.  They 
drew  a  mark  on  the  ground  and  forbade  the  Spaniards  to  pass  it;  but  this  only 
served  as  a  signal  for  Tobar  to  advance,  and  he  and  his  followers  slew  "  great  numbers 


EUROPEAN  DISCOVERY  AND  EXPLORATION.  61 

of  them."  After  this  the  Tusayans  submitted,  and  presented  their  invaders  with 
"  cotton  stuffs,  tanned  hides,  flour,  pine-apples,  native  fowls,  maize,  and  turquoises." 
Such  is,  in  part,  the  exaggerated  language  of  the  narrative  of  Castefiada.  Tobar 
was  now,  doubtless,  at  the  seven  ^villages  of  the  modern  Moqui.  They  told  him  of  a 
great  river  at  twenty  days'  distance,  which  he  would  reach  after  crossing  a  desert 
inhabited  by  a  gigantic  people. 

Coronado,  on  the  return  of  this  party,  ordered  Don  Garcia  Lopez  de  Cardenas, 
with  twelve  men,  to  explore  this  great  river.  They  were  well  received  by  the  Indians 
of  Tusayan,  who  supplied  them  with  food  and  guides,  and  after  twenty  days'  march 
over  an  entirely  uninhabited  country  the  Spaniards  stood  gazing  on  the  banks  of  the 
great  cafion  of  the  river  "Tizou,"  now  called  Colorado.  They  were  surprised  at 
the  elevation  of  its  banks,  which  they  thought  "  three  or  four  leagues  in  the  air." 
For  three  days  they  tried  to  find  some  depression  to  get  down  to  the  river,  but,  failing 
in  this,  and  being  threatened  with  a  want  of  water,  they  retraced  their  steps  to  Cibola, 
passing  in  their  way  a  high  cataract,  near  which  there  were  crystals  of  salt. 

The  information  collected  by  Coronado  at  least  made  him  better  acquainted  with 
his  geographical  position.  After  passing  north  of  the  Gila  from  Chichiticale  he  had 
found  nothing  but  a  desert.  The  first  watercourse  met  with  was  a  stream  to  which 
he  gave  the  name  of  Vermejo,  on  ascending  the  banks  of  which  he  had  indeed 
reached  the  long-sought  Cibola,  a  name  which  had  been  long  bandied  about  vaguely 
by  rumor,  but  which  there  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  the  Indians  had  ever  bestowed 
upon  it.  The  reports  of  De  Niza  and  of  De  Vaca  had  proved  alike  fallacious ;  but 
the  Spaniards  were  not  to  be  thus  discouraged.  Coronado  looked  stoutly  about 
him.  By  the  expeditions  of  Don  Pedro  de  Tobar  and  of  Don  Garcia  Lopez  de  Car 
denas  he  had  evidently  fixed  the  location  of  the  town  of  the  Moqui  and  the  Colorado 
or  Tizou  River,  and  had  clearly  determined  the  existence  of  large  desert  tracts  west 
of  him. 

In  the  mean  time,  information  from  the  east  and  northeast  poured  in  upon  him, 
and  denoted  that  to  be  the  quarter  from  which  he  had  most  to  expect.  A  chief  of 
considerable  presence  anJ  plausibility,  called  Bigotes,  came  to  him  from  a  town  called 
Cicuyo,  four  days'  march  east  of  the  Rio  Grande  del  Norte.  It  was  seventy  miles 
east  of  Cibola,  which,  in  the  longitude  of  35°,  would  denote  the  place  to  have  been  on 
the  Pecos.  Bigotes  was  well  received,  and  was  the  first  person  to  inform  the  invading 
army  of  the  existence  of  the  bison  in  that  vicinity.  One  of  the  military  parties  had, 
on  crossing  the  desert  north  of  the  Gila,  found  an  enormous  pair  of  horns,  doubtless 
those  of  some  animal  of  the  deer  tribe ;  another  had  encountered  a  flock  of  large- 
horned  sheep ;  but  they  had  witnessed  .nothing  of  the  animal  spoken  of  by  this  chief, 
and  the  intelligence  created  much  excitement.  The  visit  of  Bigotes  appears  to  have 
had  the  object  of  opening  trade  in  that  quarter.  But,  whatever  his  motives,  he  spoke 
far  too  favorably  of  the  country  and  its  resources.  In  effect,  a  most  friendly  alliance 
ensued. 

Hernando  de  Alvarado,  taking  twenty  men,  with  Bigotes  as  his  guide,  was  first 
sent  in  that  direction,  having  permission  to  be  absent  eighty  days.  He  departed  with 


52  TUB  INDIAN  TK1UES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

alacrity.  After  five  days'  march,  they  arrived  at  a  rock-castled  town,  called  Aocnco, 
— the  modern  A  coma  in  New  Mexico.  It  was  so  high  above  the  plain  that  the  nar 
rator  quaintly  says  that  the  shot  from  an  arquebuse  could  scarcely  reach  its  summit 
It  had  a  stairway  of  steps  cut  in  the  rock,  which  were  plain  and  convenient  at  the 
bottom,  but  ^hich  became  faintly  scraped  in  the  rock  and  dangerous  at  the  top,  so 
that  it  was  necessary  to  scramble  in  ascending.  Provision  was  made  for  its  defence 
by  piles  of  stones  which  could  be  rolled  down  on  the  assailants.  There  was  on  this 
elevated  area  space  to  cultivate  and  to  store  maize,  and  the  town  had  tanks  of  water. 

No  hostility  was  offered  here,  and,  after  viewing  the  place,  Alvarado  continued  on 
his  way.  After  three  days'  farther  march,  he  came  to  another  town,  called  Tigonex, 
on  the  Rio  Grande,  where  the  natives,  seeing  that  he  was  accompanied  by  Bigotes, 
also  received  the  party  well.  His  next  march  occupied  five  days,  which  brought 
him  to  Cicuye",  the  object  of  his  expedition.  This  place  was  strongly  fortified,  but  its 
inhabitants  received  them  as  those  of  the  other  towns  had  done, — as  messengers  on 
a  friendly  visit, — and  they  were  courteously  entertained. 

While  at  this  place,  Alvarado  was  introduced  to  an  Indian  of  striking  appear 
ance  and  demeanor,  called  El  Turco.  He  wore  a  noted  beard  (whence  the  name), 
and  spoke  with  great  fluency.  He  had  been  taken  prisoner  by  the  Cicuyan  Indians 
on  the  east  of  the  Rio  Grande ;  and,  probably  observing  the  eagerness  which  the 
Spaniards  manifested  for  gold  and  silver,  he  spoke  of  these  metals  as  being  plentiful  in 
the  region  in  which  he  had  been  captured.  It  is  likely,  judging  from  subsequent 
events,  that  he  thought  only  of  his  liberation  through  the  march  of  the  Spaniards 
into  that  region.  However  this  may  be,  he  was  very  lavish  in  his  descriptions  of 
the  country,  and  said  many  things  which  were  mere  exaggerations.  Under  this 
new  cause  of  excitement,  the  bison,  which  they  had  so  eagerly  wished  to  see,  lost 
interest;  and  when  Alvarado  had  accomplished  his  mission,  he  hurried  with  El 
Turco  back  to  his  starting-point,  that  he  might  communicate  the  intelligence  in  person 
to  Coronado.  The  latter  had  in  the  mean  time  moved  the  position  of  the  invading 
army  from  Cibola  to  Tigouex,  on  the  Rio  Grande.  El  Turco  repeated  his  florid 
descriptions.  He  added  that  there  was  in  that  quarter  a  river  two  leagues  wide, 
which  contained  fishes  as  large  as  horses,  and  was  navigated  by  great  lords,  in  canoes 
propelled  by  twenty  oarsmen,  having  flags  with  golden  eagles  flying  over  their  heads. 
This  lying  story  was  partly  believed.  The  general  sent  Alvarado,  with  El  Turco  for 
his  guide,  back  to  Cicuye",  to  reclaim  certain  golden  bracelets  of  which  he  said  he 
had  been  despoiled  when  he  had  been  made  a  captive  by  the  Indians  of  that  village. 
But  the  cacique  of  Cicuy6  assured  Alvarado,  on  his  arrival,  that  he  had  taken  no 
braceleta  from  the  prisoner,  and  that  El  Turco  was  "  a  great  liar."  Hereupon  Al 
varado  lured  Bigotes  and  the  cacique  of  Cicuye"  into  his  ten!,  and  put  them  both 
in  chains.  In  this  condition  they  were  marched  back  five  leagues  to  Coronado,  at 
Tigouex,  who  kept  them  imprisoned  for  six  months.  Affairs  began  thus  to  be. 
involved  by  the  bad  judgment  of  Alvarado,  who  served  the  truth-teller  and  the  liar 
alike. 

Tigouex  was  now  made  head-quarters.     At  this  place  there  were  some 'houses  of 


EUROPEAN  DISCOVERY  AND  EXPLORATION.  53 

"  seven  stones,"  which  rose  above  the  rest  like  towers,  and  had  "  embrasures  and 
loop-holes."  This  is  called  the  "handsomest,  best,  and  largest  village  in  the 
province."  The  whole  army  was  finally  concentrated  here,  and  passed  the  winter 
(1540-41 ')  at  this  place.  Snow  fell  in  December  nearly  two  feet  deep,  it  became 
cold,  and  the  soldiers  suffered  from  want  of  suitable  clothing.  To  supply  this,  Coro- 
nado  called  for  three  hundred  garments  from  the  Indians ;  and  whea  they  interposed 
objections,  saying  that  there  were  twelve  villages  to  contribute  their  share,  and  that 
the  chiefs  must  be  consulted,  he  would  brook  no  delay.  The  cavaliers  sent  by  him 
stripped  the  poor  natives  on  the  spot,  leaving  them  exposed  to  the  inclemency  of 
the  weather ;  and  when  the  dresses  did  not  suit  in  quality,  they  stripped  the  next 
Indian  they  met,  chief  or  commoner,  and  carried  away  his  garments. 

Coronado  was  not  only  inhuman  in  his  exactions,  but  impolitic  in  his  dealings 
with  the  red  men.  He  had  early  in  the  autumn  offended  the  sense  of  justice  of  the 
people  of  Cicuye  by  imprisoning  their  chief,  an  aged  man,  instead  of  El  Turco,  who 
amused  him  with  falsehoods.  To  the  stripping  the  Indians  of  their  garments  were 
added,  in  the  course  of  two  montlis'  wintering  there  by  the  Spaniards,  acts  of  licen 
tiousness  and  perfidy  that  roused  the  natives  to  a  keen  sense  of  wrong,  and  when 
the  next  campaign  opened  there  was  a  general  state  of  hostility.  It  appears  that 
Coronado  did  not  occupy  the  town  of  Tigouex,  but  camped  in  the  open  plain  near  it. 
In  the  course  of  the  hostilities  brought  on  by  the  folly  and  wickedness  of  some  of 
his  subordinates,  orders  were  given  to  assault  the  rock-town.  It  sustained  with 
firmness  a  long  siege,  and  was  finally  abandoned  by  its  inhabitants  only  from  the 
want  of  water. 

Coronado  was  now  among  the  Indian  rock-towns,  with  terraced  houses,  which 
compose  a  line  of  native  "  pueblos"  connecting  the  Rio  Pecos  with  the  upper  waters 
of  the  Little  Colorado,  up  which  latter  he  had  marched  by  way  of  the  fork  of  the 
Vermejo  till  he  reached  Cibola.  This  latter  had  been  the  talismanic  word  since  first 
leaving  Compostella  and  Culiacan.  The  disappointment  when  on  reaching  it  they 
found  it  neither  populous  nor  wealthy,  the  several  fruitless  expeditions  of  De  Tobar 
and  De  Cardenas  towards  the  west,  and  the  experience  and  observations  of  the  winter 
while  the  army  was  at  Tigouex,  had  completely  dissipated  Coronado's  sanguine 
hopes.  The  reports  of  Bigotes  and  El  Turco  from  the  east  had,  however,  rekindled 
the  Spanish  enthusiasm,  and  fresh  hopes  were  inspired  by  the  word  "  Quivera,"  now 
on  every  soldier's  tongue.  The  siege  of  Tigouex  had  not  been  completed  when  Coro 
nado  pushed  on  to  Cicuye"  (on  the  Pecos),  with  a  view  to  leading  an  expedition  to 
Quivera,  and  as  soon  as  the  spring  opened  the  rest  of  his  force  followed.  Unlike  the 
previous  experience  of  Alvarado,  who,  with  only  twenty  men,  had  been  everywhere 
received  with  friendship,  the  army  was  now  compelled  to  fight  its  way.  No  longer 
received  as  a  friend  who  desired  only  to  open  intercourse  and  commerce  with  the 
Indians,  Coronado  was  regarded  as  an  enemy,  with  the  reputation  of  being  both 


1  There  is  »  discrepancy  of  •  you  in  the  statement  of  this  writer. 


54  THJS  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

cruel  and  treacherous,— A  man  who  did  not  respect  alliances,  or  regard  truth  and 
virtue. 

When  Coronado  came  to  the  Pecos  it  was  still  frozen  so  solid  that  horses  could 
cross.  On  reaching  Cicuye*  he  camped  near  the  town,  to  which  he  restored  its  chief, 
so  long  and  unjustly  retained  in  captivity.  This  act  was  followed  by  the  liberation 
of  Bigotes,  and  friendly  relations  were  apparently  restored.  Parties  were  sent  out  to 
establish  intercourse  with  the  neighboring  towns,  particularly  with  Chia  and  Qnirix ; 
but  the  more  westerly  towns,  where  he  had  sojourned,  remained  implacable,  nor 
would  the  expelled  natives  return  to  the  towns  from  which  they  had  once  delib 
erately  fled.  A  belief  in  the  ill-luck  of  certain  localities,  a  trait  of  the  Indian 
mind,  accounts  for  the  abandonment  of  towns,  the  ruins  of  which  still  exist  in 

New  Mexico. 

The  statements  of  El  Turco  respecting  the  wealth  of  Quivera  were  still  believed, 
although  denied  by  an  Indian  named  Xabe,  a  native  of  Quivera  itself.  It  was  the 
5th  of  May  before  the  army  left  its  camp  at  Tigouex,  after  a  hard  winter,  to  re 
join  its  general  at  Cicuye",  and  as  soon  as  the  river  was  free  from  ice  he  began 
.  his  march  for  Quivera,  with  El  Turco  and  Xabe  as  guides.  Here  commences  an 
extraordinary  series  of  adventures,  which,  for  reckless  daring,  are  unparalleled  by 
anything  of  the  kind  except  those  of  De  Soto,  who  had  died  the  year  before  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Arkansas,  but  whose  successor,  Moscoso,  was  at  this  time  pursuing  his 
wild  adventures  west  of  the  Mississippi.  Coronado  at  once  set  out  from  Cicuye".  Four 
days'  march  towards  the  north-northwest,  over  a  mountainous  country,  brought  the 
army  to  the  banks  of  a  large  and  very  deep  river.  It  was  necessary  to  bridge  it,  and 
after  thus  crossing  it  they  continued  to  advance  in  the  same  course  for  ten  days,  when 
they  reached  the  buffalo  country,  and  found  a  nomadic  people  called  Querechos,  who 
lived  in  buffalo-skin  tents  and  subsisted  entirely  on  buffalo  meat.  Having  commu 
nicated  with  El  Turco,  these  Querechos  confirmed  his  statements.  Coronado  was 
now  marching  in  a  northeastern  direction,  and  every  step  carried  him  farther  from 
the  true  position  of  Quivera.1  These  nomadic  Querechos  directed  him  to  march 
eastwardly,  where  he  would  find  a  large  river,  which  he  could  follow  ninety  days 
without  leaving  a  populous  country,  and  which  was  more  than  a  league  in  breadth. 
Continuing  their  march  in  the  same  course,  the  Spaniards  reached  extensive  plains, 
and  came  into  the  midst  of  incredible  multitudes  of  the  bison.  The  flying  natives 
were  again  encountered  in  their  march  towards  the  east,  and  El  Turco  asserted  that 
they  were  now  but  two  days'  march  from  a  town  called  Haxa.  There  was  an  Indian 
in  the  army  named  Sopete,  a  native  of  Quivera,  who  is  called  "  a  painted  Indian," 
who  constantly  affirmed  that  El  Turco  was  a  liar.  Still,  Sopete  was  not  believed, 
because  the  nomads,  in  whom  we  may  probably  recognize  the  modern  Conianches, 
concurred  with  El  Turco.  But  the  warnings  of  Xabe  and  Sopete  were  disregarded. 
On  Corouado  went,  traversing  immense  plains,  seeing  nothing  for  miles  together  but 

1  It  IB  noticeable  that  Grand  Quivera,  on  the  modern  maps,  is  in  another  direction,  being  nearly  due 
of  Dun  Pedro. 


EUROPEAN  DISCOVERY  AND  EXPLORATION.  55 

skies  and  herds  of  bison ;  hundreds  of  these  they  killed.  Gulfs  and  valleys,  which 
were  occasionally  encountered,  formed  no  impediment  to  the  indomitable  zeal  and 
courage  of  his  followers.  Literally  they  overcame  every  physical  obstacle.  For 
seven-and-thirty  days  they  pushed  on,  horse  and  foot.  It  was  said,  on  the  authority 
of  an  Indian  woman  captured,  that  they  had  reached  to  within  nine  days'  journey 
of  the  advance  party  of  De  Soto.  From  the  accounts  given,  Coronado  must  have 
marciied  seven  or  eight  hundred  miles  east  of  the  point  at  which  he  crossed  the  Rio 
Grande.  He  was  forty  days  with  a  light  party  in  retracing  his  steps  to  Cicuye ;  and 
he  had  penetrated,  without  doubt,  through  portions  of  Texas  and  far  into  the  present 
area  of  Arkansas,  the  supposed  "  Arache"  of  CasteQada. 

The  ardently-sought  Quivera  still  eluded  discovery.  It  was  the  golden  town  of 
this  talismanic  name  that  was  to  reward  the  toils  of  these  arduous  and  harassing 
journeys  through  immense  solitudes  inhabited  only  by  countless  herds  of  bison  and 
by  their  flying  enemies,  the  Indian  nomads  of  the  prairies.  At  length  Coronado, 
when  he  had  probably  reached  the  great  south  branch  of  the  Arkansas,  determined 
to  send  his  army  back,  and  at  the  same  time,  taking  a  light  party  of  cavalry,  to 
^continue  the  search  a  little  farther.  As  a  preliminary  step  to  these  movements,  El 
Turco  was  closely  examined  as  to  the  cause  of  his  numerous  and  persevering  false 
hoods.  The  Indian,  if  not  taken  entirely  aback  by  these  examinations,  was  put  to 
extremities,  and,  from  whatever  cause,  confessed  that  his  design  had  been  to  entangle 
and  mislead  the  army  and  cause  its  destruction  on  these  bleak  wastes  and  level 
plains  of  grass.  On  this  discovery  of  his  bad  motives,  Corouado  ordered  him  to 
be  strangled.  This  was  done  with  military  promptitude,  and  thus  perished  a  man 
who  had  exercised  a  leading  influence  for  a  long  time  in  determining  the  move 
ments  of  this  army, — who  seemed,  indeed,  reckless  of  truth  in  his  assertions,  but  who, 
if  the  secret  workings  of  his  mind  could  be  unfolded,  perhaps  thought  himself  to 
be  doing  the  general  cause  of  the  Indian  a  service  by  leading  its  direst  enemies  to 
destruction. 

After  this  act  the  army  marched  back  under  trusty  Teyas  guides,  who  led  them 
in  twenty-five  days  a  distance  which  they  had  by  involved  courses  been  thirty-seven 
in  originally  traversing.  Coronado  spent  a  few  days  more  in  his  search,  and  then 
returned  and  rejoined  his  forces  west  of  the  Rio  Grande,  bringing  the  report  that  he 
had  visited  Quivera,  which  is  said  to  exist  "  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains  bordering 
the  sea," — an  expression  that  would  puzzle  the  wits  of  any  geographer.  The  descr.p- 
tion  given  of  its  position,  resources,  and  population  is  at  best  so  vague  that  the  term 
appears  to  be  used  by  CasteQada  rather  as  something  to  salve  disappointed  hopes,  or 
garnish  over  ill-formed  or  ill-executed  plans  of  discovery. 

Every  practical  object  of  the  expedition  had  indeed  failed.  There  was  uot  only 
no  new  Mexico  or  new  Peru,  as  it  was  fondly  hoped  there  would  be,  to  serve  as  the 
basis  of  conquest  and  discovery,  but  not  even  a  particle  of  gold  or  silver  was  found. 
Instead  of  it  they  had  found  rough  mountain-tracts,  or  vast  deserts  of  sand,  covered 
with  grass,  generally  without  forests  and  without  water,  and  occupied  by  tribes  devoid 
of  civilization.  The  valleys  susceptible  of  cultivation  constituted  but  an  inconsid- 


56  TOE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

erable  portion  of  the  whole  country,  and  could  he  made  productive  only  by  irrigation. 
The  Indiana  \r ho  occupied  these  often  lived  on  high  castellated  pinnacles  of  sandstone 
rock,  of  which  they  had  taken  possession,  and  which  they  had  rudely  fortified  against 
the  wild  roving  tribes.  They  cultivated  maize  in  isolated  valleys,  far  separated  from 
one  another  by  wide  deserts.  There  were  some  slight  traces  of  a  fixed  industry 
and  incipient  art,  but  there  were  few  and  very  detached  elements  out  of  which  to 
construct  a  civil  government. 

Coronado,  when  he  had  recched  his  head-quarters  at  Tigouex,  turned  his  thoughts 
towards  a  return  to  New  Galicia.  This  design  was  not,  however,  it  would  seem  from 
Castefiada,  in  accordance  with  the  wishes  of  the  body  of  his  army,  who  desired  to 
explore  farther;  but  in  April,  1643,  the  army  took  up  its  line  of  march  for  Mexico. 
Thus  terminated  the  expedition  of  Coronado,  which  was  the  first  to  give  to  Euro 
peans  a  knowledge  of  the  manners,  customs,  arts,  and  character  of  the  Indians  of 
New  Mexico.  - — _ 


CHAPTER    VII. 

VOYAGES  OF  RIBAULT  AND  LAUDONNIERB— MENENDEZ— RETALIATORY  EXPEDI 
TION  OP  DE  GOUROUES— FOUNDING  OF  ST.  AUGUSTINE. 

UP  to  this  point  our  information  regarding  the  Indian  tribes  has  been  derived 
in  direct  sequence  from  incidental  notices  of  the  operations  of  De  Leon  and  De 
Ayllon  in  the  south,  of  Cartier  and  Roberval  in  the  north,  of  Verazzani  in  the 
region  of  the  central  littoral  tribes,  of  Narvaez  and  De  Soto  among  the  Appalachian 
and  the  Issati,  or  Great  Western  family,  and  of  Cabeca  de  Vaca  and  Coronado  among 
the  buffalo-hunters  and  the  house-building  tribes  of  the  high  plains  of  New  Mexico. 
The  year  1542  witnessed  the  failure  of  three  principal  attempts  at  colonization,— 
those  of  Cartier,  De  Soto,  and  Coronado. 

Twenty  -.ears  of  comparative  inaction  and  quiet  succeeded  thesa  energetic  efforts 
to  found  territorial  sovereignties  in  the  extensive  country  possessed  by  the  Indians. 
In  the  mean  time  the  Reformation  had  made  such  progress  in  Europe  as  to  engender 
a  new  and  bitter  source  of  discord  between  the  subjects  of  the  colonizing  powers. 
Xavier  had  taught  the  ancient  Christian  faith  to  the  natives  of  India,  and  Las  Casas 
was  selected  to  perform  the  same  service  for  the  benighted  and  ill-used  aborigines  of 
America.  Religious  instruction  was  considered  to  be  an  eascntial  adjunct  of  every 
attempt  to  explore,  conquer,  and  colonize,  an  ecclesiastical  force  always  accom 
panying  each  expedition,  whose  duty  it  was  to  turn  the  native  tribes  from  their  grow 
demonology  and  idolatry  to  the  service  of  God. 

Prominent  among  the  converts  in  France  to  the  new  doctrines  promulgated  by 
Luther  and  Calvin  was  Admiral  Coligny,  a  man  of  much  influence,  one  of  the 
nobility,  and  holding  a  high  rank.  The  narrow-minded  Charles  IX.,  then  a  mere 
boy,  and  his  bigoted  mother,  Catherine  de  Medicis,  were  then  in  power  in  France. 
Coligny,  being  desirous  of  providing  an  asylum  for  his  persecuted  countrymen  pro 
fessing  the  Protestant  faith,  turned  his  attention  to  the  New  World.  He  first  made 
an  experiment  in  Brazil,  which  failed  through  the  treachery  of  Villegagnon,  his 
agent,  who  renounced  his  faith.  Coligny  next  directed  his  thoughts  to  Florida,  which 
was  a  part  of  the  region  which,  in  1524,  had  been  named  New  France  by  Verazzani. 
He  received  a  patent  from  the  king  for  founding  a  colony  in  this  quarter,  and  pro 
vided  two  ships,  which  were  placed  under  the  command  of  Jean  Ribault,  a  skilful 
and  resolute  Huguenot,  who  set  sail  from  Havre  on  the  18th  of  February,  1562. 
Steering  a  nearly  direct  course  across  the  Atlantic,  without  touching  at  any  of  the 
West  India  islands,  he  made  the  coast  of  Florida  on  the  last  day  of  April,  the  voyage, 
owing  to  tempestuous  weather,  having  occupied  a  little  over  two  months.  The  fol 
lowing  day  he  cast  anchor  off  the  mouth  of  the  St.  John's  River,  naming  it  the  river 

n-8  67 


58  TBX  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

of  May ;  then,  entering  it  with  his  boats,  he  ascertained  that  there  was  a  good  depth 
of  water  in  the  channel. 

Ribault  took  possession  of  the  country  in  die  name  of  the  king,  and  erected  a 
stone  monument  which  he  had  brought  with  him  from  France  for  that  purpose. 
Having  established  a  friendly  and  pleasant  intercourse  with  the  natives,  after  spending 
a  few  days  with  them  lie  re-embarked,  and  during  four  weeks  continued  his  voyage 
along  tho  coast  until  he  arrived  at  Port  Royal,  within  the  present  limits  of  South 
Carolina.  Finding,  on  exploring  it  by  means  of  his  boats,  that  the  harbor  was 
spacious,  the  water  deep,  and  the  anchorage  excellent,  he  entered  it  with  his  largest 
ships  and  dropped  his  anchors.  The  territory  in  which  he  then  was  had  been  named 
Chicora  by  the  natives,  as  also  by  the  early  Spanish  adventurers.  Magnificent 
scenery,  both  land  and  water,  was  spread  before  him  in  every  direction.  Delighted 
with  the  prospect,  he  took  formal  possession  of  the  surrounding  territory,  by  erecting 
an  engraved  monumental  stone  bearing  the  king's  arms.  Having  determined  to 
found  a  settlement  at  this  place,  a  suitable  spot  was  selected,  which  is  supposed  to 
have  been  near  to  or  on  the  site  of  the  present  town  of  Beaufort,  where  he  erected  a 
'  fortification,  called,  in  honor  of  the  king,  Fort  Charles.  Leaving  thirty  men,  well 
provided  with  arms,  tools,  and  supplies,  to  begin  operations,  he  placed  them  under  the 
command  of  Albert  de  Peirria,  and  then  returned  to  France.  Being  a  strictly  con 
scientious  man,  Ribault  did  not  follow  the  example  of  the  Spanish  mariners  and 
abduct  the  natives  of  the  country  that  he  might  exhibit  them  in  Europe  as  specimens 
of  the  Indian  race. 

The  Chicora  Indians,  having  naturally  very  gentle  manners,  very  kindly  supplied 
the  colonists  with  maize,  besides  rendering  them  other  services.  In  these  offices  of 
kindness  the  local  chief,  Andasta,  took  a  prominent  part,  and  was  seconded  by  other 
chiefs  at  more  southerly  points,  who  were  respectively  entitled  Ouade,  Couexes, 
Maccoa,  Outina,  Satouriona,  Wosta,  Oleteraca,  Timagoon,  and  Potanon,  the  ortho 
graphical  elements  of  which  names  do  not  coincide  with  the  Muscogee,  Cherokee,  or 
any  known  member  of  the  Floridian  stock. 

The  colonists  themselves,  however,  being  idle  and  factious,  planted  nothing,  and 
had  no  idea  of  directing  their  attention  to  the  real  business  before  them.  Peirria, 
having  no  proper  conception  of  the  authority  delegated  to  him,  became  an  inflated 
tyrant,  hanged  one  of  the  men  as  a  measure  of  discipline,  and  performed  other  arbi 
trary  acts.  Eventually  the  colonists  rebelled  against  his  authority  and  put  him  to 
death,  after  which,  having  appointed  another  leader  in  his  stead,  they  determined  to 
build  a  vessel  and  return  in  it  to  France.  This  plan  was  carried  out,  and  the  entire 
party  embarked,  abandoning  the  fort  The  voyage  was  long  and  tempestuous,  and, 
the  vessel  proving  unseaworthy,  they  suffered  horribly.  Most  of  them  died  of  star 
vation  and  exposure.  At  length,  when  near  the  coast  of  France,  an  English  vessel 
hove  in  sight,  and  the  few  survivors  were  saved. 

When  Ribault  returned  to  France,  after  establishing  his  little  colony  at  Fort 
Charles,  he  found  the  contest  between  the  Catholics  and  the  Reformers  raging  with 
greater  violence  than  ever;  and  Coligny  was  so  deeply  involved  in  this  struggle  that 


EUROPEAN  DISCOVERY  AND  EXPLORATION.  59 

he  applied  to  ihe  king  in  vnin  for  succor  for  the  colony.  AH  soon,  however,  as  the 
warfare  against,  the  Huguenots  had  subsided,  three  ships  were  fitted  out  to  convey 
a'-wstance  to  the  colony  in  Chicora,  and  jilaeed  under  the  orders  of  lleri<5  de  Laudon- 
niere,  who,  in  addition  to  the  ordinary  outfit  of  men  and  supplies,  was  provided  with 
an  artist,  who  had  orders  to  sketch  the  features  of  the  natives,  as  also  their  costumes 
and  other  curiosities.1 

Laudonniere  sailed  from  Havre  on  the  22d  of  April,  1/>(M,  one  year  and  nine 
months  subsequent  to  the  first  departure  of  Kihault  from  the  same  j»ort.  Intelli 
gence  of  the  sad  fate  of  those  left  at  Fort  Charles  had  probably  l»een  received  in 
France  prior  to  this  time,  although  the  fact  is  not  distinctly  slated.  At  all  events, 
Laudonnierc  did  not  proceed  to  Fort  Charles,  but  on  the  25lh  of  June  east  anchor 
off  the  mouth  of  the  river  of  May  (St.  John's),  in  Florida.  On  entering  the  river 
he  was  received  by  Satouriona  and  his  tril»e,  who  shouted  in  French  ami,  ami.  Uy 
them  he  was  guided  to  the  monument  of  jtossession  erected  by  Kibault,  which  In: 
found  crowned  with  garlands  and  surrounded  by  little  baskets  of  maize.  There  was, 
indeed,  a  cordiality  in  the  reception  of  the  French  by  these  aborigines,  which,  what 
ever  may  have  occasioned  it,  has  always  marked  the  intercourse  of  the  Frencli  with 
the  Indians  from  that  day  to  the  present,  and  which  has  not  been  manifested  by  them 
towards  any  other  nation. 

Laudonniere  was  entranced,  not  only  with  the  picturesque  beauty  of  the  country, 
but  also  with  its  fertility,  and  its  fragrant  flowers  and  luxuriant  vegetation.  Quitting 
the  St.  John's,  he  sailed  northwardly  along  the  coast  until  he  entered  a  river,  which 
he  named  the  Somme,  where  he  was  also  received  in  u  friendly  manner  by  the  Indians. 
A  few  days  subsequently  he  returned  again  to  the  St.  John's,  and  built  a  fort  on  its 
southern  bank,  about  three  leagues  from  its  mouth,  which  he  named  Caroline,  in 
honor  of  Charles  IX.  The  events  connected  with  the  history  of  this  fort — the 
mutiny,  the  improvements,  the  buccaneering  and  the  executions,  the  visit  to  the 
friendly  chief  Andasta  at  Port  Iloyal,  Indian  negotiations,  fights,  and  other  occur 
rences — would  impart  a  deep  interest  to  this  portion  of  the  narrative,  but  can  only 
be  thus  incidentally  noticed.  Their  result  was  the  transmission  of  false  reports  to 
France,  in  consequence  of  which  Laudonniere  was  recalled. 

8ECOXD   VISIT  OF   KIBAULT  TO   FLORIDA — TREACHEROUS   MASSACRE  OF   HIMSKLF   AND 

HIS   M  Ji.v. 

The  intestine  dissensions  in  France  having  been  in  a  measure  allayed,  Admiral 
Coligny  renewed  his  representations  to  the  king  in  favor  of  his  plan  of  colonization 
in  Florida.  Early  in  January,  15G5,  authority  was  granted  him  to  equip  seven  ves 
sels  for  another  voyage  thither,  with  all  possible  despatch.  This  squadron  was  placed 
under  the  command  of  Ribault,  who  found  no  difficulty  in  procuring  as  many  vol- 

1  The  artist  was  L«  Mojne,  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  the  first  attempt*  to  delineate  the  ancient  Indian* 
of  this  put  of  America. 


60  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATE& 

unteere  as  he  deemed  necessary  for  the  service,  some  of  whom  carried  with  them 
their  wives  and  children.  Whatever  reports  may'  have  reached  France  concerning 
the  untoward  events  at  Fort  Charles,  they  do  not  appear  to  have  dampened  the 
energy  with  which  this  expedition  was  equipped.  Kibuult  sailed  from  Dieppe  on  the 
27th  of  May,  and  arrived  at  the  river  St.  John's,  Florida,  on  the  28th  of  August 
Ascending  the  river  to  Fort  Caroline,  he  was  welcomed  by  Laudonnicre,  whose 
conduct  he  approved.  A  few  days  subsequently,  September  4,  a  Spanish  squadron, 
under  the  command  of  Pedro  Menendez  de  Aviles,  a  narrow-minded  and  cruel  bigot, 
arrived  at  tbe  same  place  with  a  comparatively  large  force  of  men,  and  more  sub 
stantial  and  larger  vessels.  He  held  a  commission  from  Philip  II.  to  make  discov 
eries  and  found  a  colony,  and  had  explicit  instructions  to  expel  the  Huguenots  and 
Lutherans  who  had  fled  from  France  under  the  patronage  of  Coligny. 

On  the  8th  of  September,  Menendez  landed  a  few  leagues  south  of  the  St.  John's, 
at  a  point  where  laborers  had  been  set  to  work  a  day  or  two  previous  to  erect  a  forti 
fication,  which  he  named  St.  Augustine.  This  is  the  oldest  town  in  the  United  States 
by  more  than  forty  years.  Ribault,  having  determined  to  put  to  sea  and  attack  the 
squadron,  assembled  his  officers  to  deliberate  on  the  measure.  Objections  were  made 
to  this  plan  by  Laudonniere,  but  the  majority  pronounced  in  its  favor.  At  this 
time  an  Indian  chief  arrived  with  the  news  that  the  Spaniards  were  digging  trenches 
and  erecting  breastworks  at  the  place  where  they  had  landed.  By  attacking  their 
shipping,  Ribault  thought  he  could  frustrate  their  design.  Flushed  with  this  idea, 
he  took  nearly  all  the  available  force  of  the  fort  and  set  sail  to  encounter  the 
enemy.  At  first  calms  prevented  the  contest,  and  subsequently  a  storm  drove  the 
French  out  to  sea.  Menendez,  learning  tbe  defenceless  condition  of  Fort  Caroline, 
determined  to  march  against  it  with  five  hundred  men.  Heavy  rains  and  inter 
vening  marshes  protracted  his  movements,  but  after  three  days'  march  across  the 
country  under  the  direction  of  Indian  guides  his  army  reached  the  environs  of  the 
fort.  The  Spaniards  advanced  cautiously,  and  were  not  seen  until  they  were  close  to 
the  fort,  which,  taking  advantage  of  some  breaches,  they  at  once  assaulted.  The 
contest  was  short:  the  works  were  soon  stormed,  and  the  survivors  were  nearly  all 
immediately  put  to  the  sword,  bigoted  zeal  adding  its  incitement  to  the  perpetration 
of  these  horrors.  It  is  stated  that  on  the  20th  of  September,  when  it  was  attacked, 
Fort  Caroline  had  but  eighty-six  persons  within  its  walls,  a  part  of  whom  were  women 
and  children.  Only  nine  or  ten  had  ever  borne  arms,  and  but  seventeen  soldiers 
were  fit  for  service,  including  some  who  were  still  confined  from  the  effects  of  wounds 
received  in  a  battle  with  the  Indians.  The  fort  itself  was  found  to  be  in  a  dilapidated 
state,  Laudonniere  having  used  the  timber  of  one  angle  to  build  a  vessel  when  he  had 
determined  to  abandon  it.  Laudonniere  escaped  into  the  woods,  together  with  some 
others.  Several  of  the  prisoners  were  taken  to  a  tree  standing  near  the  fort,  and 
were  all  hanged  on  its  limbs.  The  following  inscription  was  then  affixed  to  the 
trunk :  "  Not  as  Frenchmen,  but  as  Lutherans." 

Meantime,  the  squadron  of  Ribault  was  wrecked  on  the  Florida  coast,  without, 
however,  the  loss  of  any  lives.  The  commander,  after  organizing  his  force,  began 


EUROPEAN  DISCOVERY  AND  EXPLORATION.  01 

his  march  back  to  Fort  Caroline,  following  the  coast-line.  Starvation  soon  reduced 
the  men  to  mere  skeletons.  At  length,  on  the  hanks  of  a  stream,  they  were  con 
fronted  by  Mcnendcz  with  superior  forces.  A  parley,  negotiations,  and  a  surrender 
ensued,  the  French  delivering  up  their  arms.  They  were  then  conveyed  across  the 
river  in  squads,  and  as  soon  as  each  squad  reached  the  other  side  their  hands  were 
tied  behind  their  backs,  after  which  they  were  marched  off  to  a  distance  and  shot. 
'When  Ribault  at  last  discovered  the  treachery,  he  was  almost  immediately  deprived 
of  life  by  a  Spanish  soldier,  who  stabbed  him  with  a  poniard ;  and  Ortez,  his  junior 
in  command,  shared  the  same  fate. 

Intelligence  of  the  horrid  treachery  of  the  Spaniards  was  received  in  France  with 
one  universal  burst  of  indignation.  The  relatives  of  the  persons  massacred  in  Florida 
petitioned  the  king  for  redress,  alleging  that  the  colonists  had  gone  thither  by  hit* 
authority,  and  that  consequently  it  was  his  crown  that  had  been  insulted.  The  nation 
demanded  that  the  King  of  Spain  should  be  required  to  make  amends  for  the  atroci 
ties  of  his  subjects.  But  Charles  IX.  cared  no  more  for  these  events  than  did  Philip 
II.  Protestantism  being  a  heresy  loathed  by  both  monarchs,  nothing  was  done. 
The  blood  of  Ribault  and  of  his  nine  hundred  followers  vainly  appealed  to  the 
French  government  for  vengeance. 

At  length  the  matter  was  taken  in  hand  by  the  Chevalier  Dominique  de  Gourgues, 
a  Gascon  gentleman,  descended  from  an  ancient  family.  He  possessed  an  enviable 
reputation  for  courage  and  character,  and  stood  high  in  public  estimation  for  his 
military  services  both  in  France  and  in  foreign  countries.  His  success  and  skill  in 
naval  affairs  were  also  of  a  high  order. 

At  his  own  cost  Gourgues  equipped  three  vessels  of  moderate  tonnage,  adapted  to 
the  navigation  of  small  rivers  and  shallow  bays.  In  calling  for  volunteers,  both 
soldiers  and  sailors,  he  told  no  one  his  precise  object,  the  prestige  of  hia  name  being 
sufficient.  He  mustered  one  hundred  soldiers  having  fire-arms  (among  whom  were 
several  gentlemen),  and  eighty  mariners  armed  with  cross-bows.  He  carried  with 
him  provisions  for  one  year.  It  was  the  22d  of  August  before  he  left  the  coast  of 
France.  He  appeared  to  meditate  a  descent  on  the  shores  of  Africa,  which  he  really 
visited^  but  finally,  steering  across  the  Atlantic,  he  made  the  shores  of  Brazil,  whence 
he  directed  his  course  to  Cape  San  Antonio,  the  wtwt  extremity  of  Cuba.  At  this 
place  he  called  his  men  together  and  revealed  to  them  the  object  of  the  ex]K!!lition. 
He  stated  the  injuries  inflicted  upon  their  country,  the  insult  to  their  king,  the  grass 
violation  of  all  recognized  laws  of  war,  and,  above  all,  the  outrage  upon  humanity. 
Having  aroused  their  feelings  and  sense  of  justice,  he  sailed  into  the  river  Somme,  or 
St.  Mary's,  now  a  part  of  the  boundary  between  Florida  and  Georgia. 

Nearly  a  year  had  elapsed  in  the  performance  of  the  long  and  circuitous  voyage, 
and  in  the  delays  incident  to  the  landings  which  had  been  made.  Spring  had  again 
clothed  the  Florida  coasts  in  verdure.  It  waa  early  in  the  month  of  April  when 
Gourgues  entered  the  river  Si.  Mary's.  The  Indians  were  assembled  in  considerable 
numbers,  and  evinced  signs  of  hostility  until  they  ascertained  that  the  new-comers 
were  French.  The  chief,  Satouriona,  was  there  to  welcome  him,  and  restored  to  him 


-.-,:<.,•'.     '    ' 
62  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

a  young  Frenchman  (Pierre  Del  re),  who  had  escaped  to  the  Indians  after  the  mas 
sacre  of  the  garrison  of  Fort  Caroline,  and  who  subsequently  became  very  serviceable 
to  the  French  as  an  interpreter.  Satouriona  soon  gave  Gourgues  to  understand  that 
the  Indians  hated  the  Spaniards,  whose  domination  was  irksome,  and  at  once  agreed 
to  aid  Gourgues  in  an  attack  on  the  three  Spanish  forts,  then  located  on  the  St 
John's.  The  movements  of  Gourgues  were  very  rapid.  Finding  the  Indians  ready 
to  second  him,  he  determined  to  attack  the  enemy  immediately.  In  three  days  the 
Indians,  to  the  number  of  three  hundred,  armed  with  bows  and  led  by  experienced 
warriors,  set  out  by  land  for  a  rendezvous  on  the  St.  John's.  Gourgues,  intending 
to  proceed  by  water,  embarked  his  men  in  boats,  but,  the  winds  being  adverse,  when 
half-way  thither  he  landed  and  marched  across  the  country.  When  he  arrived  at 
the  rendezvous  all  the  Indians  were  there,  eager  for  the  fray. 

A  conference  having  been  held  with  the  Indian  chiefs,  they  marched  forward, 
and  just  at  nightfall  reached  the  river.  It  was  decided  to  attack  the  fort  on  the 
south  bank  at  daybreak,  the  Indians  being  skilful  guides,  but  it  happened  that  the 
tide  in  a  creek  near  the  fort  was  up,  making  it  then  too  deep  to  ford.  This  caused  a 
•  delay,  during  the  continuance  of  which  they  lay  concealed  in  the  forest.  When  the 
tide  flowed  out,  the  allies  crossed  the  creek  unobserved,  and  stormed  and  carried  the 
fort,  sword  in  hand,  retaining  but  few  prisoners. 

The  feelings  of  Gourgues  and  his  men  were  much  excited  by  the  capture  of  a 
culverin  having  the  arms  of  Henry  IV.  engraved  on  it,  which  had  been  mounted  in 
Fort  Caroline.  Ordering  his  boats  around,  he  determined  immediately  to  assault  the 
north  fort.  He  embarked  his  men  in  military  order,  but  the  Indians,  too  impatient 
to  wait  for  the  return  of  the  boats,  plunged  into  the  river  and  swam  across.  Seeing 
so  great  an  array,  the  garrison,  sixty  in  number,  made  no  show  of  defence,  but  fled, 
with  the  intention  of  seeking  shelter  in  another  fort,  situated  three  miles  above.  But 
they  were  met  by  another  strong  party  of  French,  and,  being  hemmed  in  by  the 
Indians  in  the  rear,  were  completely  cut  to  pieces,  with  the  exception  of  fifteen  men, 
who  were  detained  that  they  might  be  hanged. 

Fort  Mateo,  the  strongest  of  the  three  works  which  the  Spaniards  had  erected 
after  the  capture  of  Fort  Caroline,  was  still  unharmed.  While  meditating  on  the 
best  mode  of  attack,  they  were  informed  by  one  of  the  Spanish  prisoners,  a  soldier 
from  Fort  Mateo,  of  the  exact  height  of  its  walls,  to  scale  which  ladders  were  at 
once  prepared.  At  this  time  the  Indians  discovered  a  Spaniard  in  camp  in  the 
disguise  of  an  Indian,  who  proved  to  be  a  spy.  From  him  Gourgues  learned  that 
the  garrison  consisted  of  two  hundred  and  sixty  men,  that  the  fort  was  large,  and 
that  it  was  believed  that  Gourgues  had  a  force  of  two  thousand  men.  He  instantly 
determined  on  his  plan  of  attack,  and,  after  two  days  spent  in  preparation,  he  directed 
the  Indians  to  conceal  themselves  in  the  forest,  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  near  the 
fort.  He  then  crossed  in  boats  with  his  whole  force,  merely  leaving  behind  him 
fifteen  men  as  a  guard.  As  soon  as  his  army  was  seen  from  the  fort,  the  Spaniards 
opened  their  culverins  on  him,  to  avoid  the  effects  of  which  he  landed  and  took 
possession  of  an  eminence,  whence  he  could  overlook  the  fort  and  the  movements  of 


EUROPEAN  DISCOVERY  AND  EXPLORATION.  63 

its  garrison,  while  his  own  troops  were  concealed  and  protected.  He  designed  taking 
the  work  by  escalade  the  following  morning,  hut  the  Spaniards  precipitated  matters 
by  making  a  sally  of  sixty  men.  Gourgues  ordered  an  officer  and  twenty  men  to 
get  between  the  fort  and  the  sallying  party  by  a  circuitous  route,  which  being  accom 
plished,  he  marched  rapidly  forward,  directing  his  forces  to  reserve  their  fire  for  a 
close  contest,  and  after  the  first  discharge  to  rush  on  sword  in  hand.  Many  of  the 
foe  fell,  and  though  the  rest  fought  bravely  they  were  at  length  obliged  to  retreat, 
but,  encountering  the  force  in  their  rear,  every  man  was  slain,  no  quarter  being  given. 

Seeing  the  flower  of  their  force  thus  cut  down,  the  garrison,  crediting  the  exag 
gerated  reports  of  the  French  strength,  fled  across  the  river,  where  the  Indians 
lying  in  ambush  fell  upon  them  with  overwhelming  fury.  Such  was  the  skill  of  the 
savages  in  the  use  of  the  arrow  that  one  bolt  passed  through  the  buckler  of  a  Spanish 
officer  and  entered  his  body,  killing  him  on  the  spot.  The  French,  having  again 
crossed  the  river,  assaulted  the  Spaniards  in  the  rear,  killing  all  who  escaped  the 
Indians,  and  thus  the  entire  garrison  perished,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  reserved 
for  the  gallows  as  a  retaliation  for  the  cruelty  of  the  Spaniards  after  the  surrender 
of  Ribault. 

Fort  Mateo  was  entered  triumphantly,  and  was  found  to  contain  a  large  quantity 
of  arms,  nine  culverins,  and  eighteen  casks  of  powder.  The  following  day  the  boats 
•were  freighted  with  the  artillery,  but  the  magazine  was  blown  up  by  a  secret  train 
left  by  the  enemy,  which  was  unwittingly  fired  by  an  Indian  while  cooking  fish. 

The  work  of  retribution  was  not,  however,  as  yet  fully  completed.  Drawing  up 
his  men,  and  the  auxiliary  Indians  who  had  taken  so  active  a  part  in  the  short  cam 
paign,  and  placing  all  the  Spanish  prisoners  whom  he  had  taken  in  the  centre, 
Gourgues  addressed  the  latter,  recounting  to  them  the  atrocities  committed  by  Me- 
nendez,  and  finished  by  condemning  them  to  immediate  execution  in  the  same 
manner  as  that  adopted  by  the  Spaniards.  They  were  then  taken  to  the  same  tree 
which  had  served  the  nefarious  Mcnendez,  and  upon  which  the  latter  had  placed  the 
inscription,  "  Not  as  Frenchmen,  but  as  Lutherans."  The  thirty  prisoners  having 
been  suspended  upon  its  limbs,  Gourgues,  with  a  red-hot  pointed  iron,  inscribed  a 
strip  of  pine  board  with  the  words,  "  Not  as  Spaniards,  but  as  traitors,  robbers,  and 
murderers,"  and  fastened  it  to  the  gallows-tree. 

Immediately  returning  with  his  cavaliers  and  his  native  allies  to  St.  Mary's 
llivor,  where  he  had  left  his  ships,  and  having  distributed  presents  to  the  Indians, 
who  were  greatly  pleased  with  his  martial  exploits,  Gourgues,  on  the  3d  of  May,  set 
sail  for  France,  arriving  at  the  port  of  Rochelle  on  the  6th  of  June,  after  a  very 
prosperous  voyage. 


.    '         Hi.  '-.- 

.  •  •  • 


PERIOD  IL 

:     •'       ••          '       ••"• 

-./•:.•  •  

.         ,  «  .  EAELY  EUEOPEAH  SETTLEMEHTS. 

-.-•'.- **•  •    .       •     ..  - 

.      '    '       •    -  ;  •-._ — ___ 


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. 


CHAPTER    L 


'•'     -•          '  '  -•  <    'V 
DISCOVERY   'OP   VIRGINIA— EFFORTS    FOR     ITS    COLONIZATION— SIR    WALTER 
RALEIGH— SIR  RICHARD  GREENVILLE— SETTLEMENT  ON   ROANOKE   ISLAND 
-.    *   ABANDONED— THE  ABORIGINES— JAMESTOWN  SETTLED— CAPTAIN  JOHN  SMITH 
— OPECHANCANOUOH— MASSACRE  OF  THE  COLONISTS— INDIAN  POPULATION. 

1  .  . 

THE  skill  and  daring  of  John  and  Sebastian  Cabot  gave  to  England,  in  1497, 
such  possessory  right  to  the  North  American  continent  as  priority  of  discovery  could 
confer,  but  for  nearly  a  century  she  made  no  attempt  to  enforce  it.  The  first  energetic 
effort  in  this  direction  was  made  by  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  than  whom  no  man  living 
during  the  reign  of  Elizabeth  acquired  greater  celebrity  for  military  exploits,  naval 
skill,  enthusiastic  pursuit  of  transatlantic  discoveries,  and  the  furtherance  of  coloni 
zation.  He  was  equally  renowned  for  his  wit,  learning,  eloquence,  and  accomplish 
ments.  Descended  from  an  old  family  in  Devonshire,  he  was  educated  at  Oxford, 
and  after  serving  with  distinguished  credit  in  France  under  Coligny  and  Condi,  in 
the  Netherlands  under  the  Prince  of  Orange,  and  in  Ireland  against  the  rebels,  he 
was  received  at  Elizabeth's  court  with  marked  favor.  The  world  is  indebted  to 
Raleigh  for  the  discovery  of  Virginia.  His  plans  for  promoting  colonization  on  the 
Atlantic  coast  were  early  developed,  and  he  was,  beyond  all  others,  a  zealous  as  well 
as  steadfast  advocate  of  the  policy  of  extending  the  power  and  civilization  of  England 
to  the  wild  shores  of  America.  He  commanded  an  expedition  which  explored 
Guiana,  in  South  America,  and  ascended  the  Orinoco  to  the  distance  of  four  hundred 
miles  from  ite  mouth.  Subsequently  he  wrote  an  account  of  the  countries  visited  by 
him,  which  is  celebrated  for  its  truthful,  glowing,  and  graphic  descriptions.  Having 
been  one  of  the  originators  of  the  expedition  of  Sir  Humphrey  Gilbert  (his  half- 
brother)  to  Newfoundland,  when  that  attempt  to  found  a  colony  failed,  he  obtained 
.  letters  patent  from  Elizabeth  authorizing  him  to  renew  the  effort  in  a  more  southerly 
latitude  on  the  Atlantic.  These  letters  were  dated  on  the  25th  of  March,  1584, 
nearly  six  years  after  the  failure  of  Gilbert's  attempt  The  authority  to  make  dis 
coveries  and  found  a  colony  was  plenary,  but  the  government  did  not  undertake  to 
defray  any  part  of  the  cost.  It  was,  strictly  speaking,  a  private  or  associate  adventure, 
64 


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EARLY  KUROl'EAN  SETTLEMENTS.  66 

the  crown  conferring  upon  the  projectors  tlio  proprietorship  of  the  country  discovered, 
merely  stipulating  for  the  usual  acknowledgment  of  Bovereignty  hy  the  surrender  of 
one-fifth  of  the  proceeds  of  nil  mines.  Sonic  grants  of  licenses  on  wines,  and  other 

.  emolument*,  were  at  the  same  j>criod  bestowed  ii]K>n  Raleigh  to  enable  him  to  liqui 
date  the  charges  of  his  equipment;  in  addition  to  which,  he  associated  with  him  other 
persons  possessing  means  and  influence,  among  whom  were  included  blood-relations. 
Two  vessels  were  provided  and  placed  under  the  respective  commands  of  Philip 
Amidas  and  Arthur  Barlow,  the  latter  of  whom  had  served  under  Raleigh  in  Ireland 
as  an  officer  of  the  land-forces.  On  the  27th  of  April  the  shijw  sailed  out  of  the 
Thames,  and,  following  the  usual  circuitous  route,  via  the  Canaries  and  the  West 

.Indies,  arrived  off  the  coast  of  Florida  on  the  2d  of  July.  The  Virginia  coasts  were 
occupied  by  clans  of  Algonkins  of  the  Powhatanic  type.  The  natives  were  too 
feeble  to  inspire  terror,  clothed  in  deer-skins,  having  for  weapons  bows  and  arrows, 
hatchets  of  stone,  and  wooden  swords,  and  shields  made  of  bark  and  sticks  woven 
together.  The  greatest  chief  in  the  country  could  not  muster  more  than  seven 
hundred  or  eight  hundred  fighting-men.  Their  wars  were  carried  on  by  sudden 
surprises  at  daybreak  or  by  moonlight,  ambushes,  and  other  subtle  devices.  Captain 
Smith  once  met  a  party  of  seven  hundred,  and  so  great  was  the  superiority  conferred 
on  the  English  by  their  fire-arms  that  with  fifteen  men  he  was  able  to  withstand  them 
all.  Their  largest  town  contained  but  thirty  houses,  with  walls  of  bark,  or  of  upright 
poles  bent  over  and  fastened  nt  the  top.  Each  clan  obeyed  the  authority  of  its  own 
chief,  but  all  were  associated  in  a  general  confederacy,  which  was  ruled  by  Powhatan, 
whose  council-fire  and  residence  were  located  on  the  James  River.  Those  who  lived 
on  the  coasts  relied  on  fish  as  one  of  the  means  of  their  sulwisfcnce.  The  hunting- 
grounds  extended  west  to  the  general  line  of  the  falls  of  the  Virginia  rivers,  where 
people  of  a  diverse  stock  as  well  as  language  supervened,  extending  to  the  Allegha- 
nies.  Whatever  occurrence  of  moment  happened  on  the  Iwrders,  as  the  appearance 
of  enemies  or  strangers,  was  immediately  communicated  to  the  central  administration. 
In  this  way  a  sort  of  inchoate  republic  was  governed. 

Amidas  and  Barlow  approached  a  low  shore  covered  with  trees  and  fringed  with 
an  outer  line  of  islands  and  islets.  Hi.ving  cast  anchor,  Barlow  landed  in  bis  yawl 
at  the  island  of  Wococon,  where  he  admired  the  handsome  trees,  indigenous  fruits, 
and  vigorous  vegetation.  But  no  Indians  appeared  until  the  third  day,  when  three  of 
the  natives  approached  in  a  canoe,  and  a  friendly  intercourse  ensned.  The  following 
day  the  ships  were  visited  by  several  canoes,  in  one  of  which  was  Granganameo, 
Powhatan's  brother.  His  attendant*  spread  a  mat  on  the  ground,  upon  which  he 
fearlessly  seated  himself,  and  evinced  perfect  self-possession,  though  the  Englishmen 
were  completely  armed.  He  made  gesticulations  of  friendship  by  stroking  his  head 

.  and  breast  with  his  hand  and  repeating  this  ceremony  on  his  visitors.1     He  then 

,  '  This  custom  of  pawing  the  hand  over  the  face  and  breast  was  noticed  \>j  Cibefa  de  Vacm  in  tribe* 

west  of  Arkansas  about  1536.     Jacques  Cartier  also  found  this  custom,  in  15  U,  in  the  tribes  who 
bis  ships  in  the  St.  Lawrence. 

II— 9 


66  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  Of  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

arose  and  addressed  them  in  a  "  long  speech,"  all  his  attendants  standing  in  silence. 
Presents  were  now  laid  before  him,  and  before  four  other  persons  who  appeared  to 
be  officials,  which  at  the  close  of  the  interview  he  directed  to  be  taken  away  as  all 
belonging  to  himself.  At  this  interview  friendly  salutations  were  exchanged.  The 
Indians  are  described  as  "a  proper  well-proportioned  people,  very  civil  in  their 
manners  and  behavior."  After  this  interview,  reciprocal  confidence  being  estab 
lished,  a  traffic  was  commenced. 

Amidas  then  proceeded  to  enter  Pamlico  Sound,  and  the  following  day,  at  even 
ing,  anchored  near  the  island  of  Roanoke,  which  he  estimated  to  be  seven  leagues 
distant  from  Occoquan,  the  first  place  of  landing. 

At  Roanoke  the  English  found  a  small  village,  comprising  nine  houses,  one  of 
which  was  occupied  by  the  family  of  Granganameo.  The  cliief  being  absent,  his 
wife  icceived  Amidas  with  courtesy  and  hospitality.  She  was  an  energetic  woman, 
and  ordered  their  boat  to  be  drawn  ashore  and  the  oars  to  be  carried  up  to  the  vil 
lage  to  guard  them  from  thieves.  The  feet  of  the  English  having  been  washed  in 
warm  water,  she  then  invited  them  to  partake  of  hominy,  boiled  venison,  and  roasted 
fish,  with  a  dessert  of  "  melons  and  other  vegetables." 

Fearing  treachery,  Amidas  embarked  in  his  boat  at  evening,  and,  pushing  it  out 
into  the  sound,  anchored  off  the  village,  intending  thus  to  pass  the  night.  The  wife 
of  Granganameo,  divining  the  reason  for  this  precaution,  and  evidently  regretting 
his  mistrust,  sent  down  the  evening  meal  in  pots  to  the  shore.  She  also  ordered 
mats  to  be  carried  to  the  boat  to  shelter  the  English  from  the  night  dews,  and 
directed  several  men  and  thirty  women  to  remain  there  all  night  as  a  guard. 

This  constituted  the  extreme  limit  of  their  discoveries.  Returning  to  their 
anchorage,  the  explorers  spent  two  months  and  a  half  on  the  coast,  when,  having 
finished  their  traffic,  they  set  sail  for  England  about  the  middle  of  September,  car 
rying  with  them  two  natives,  called  Manteo  and  Wasechoe.  The  safe  return  of  the 
ships,  and  the  narration  of  the  discoveries  made,  created  a  strong  sensation,  and 
Elizabeth  was  so  much  pleased  with  the  description  of  the  country,  and  with  the 
prospect  of  extending  her  sovereignty  which  it  presented,  that  she  named  it  Virginia, 
in  allusion  to  her  own  state  of  single-blessedness. 

The  desire  to  found  colonies  was  effectually  aroused  in  England  by  the  results 
of  this  discovery,  which  was  the  germ  of  the  British  colonial  establishments.  The 
pioneer  ships  had  scarcely  returned  from  Virginia,  when  a  second  voyage  was  resolved 
on.  Sir  Richard  Greenville,  who  had  been  one  of  the  promoters  of  the  first  effort, 
originated  this  second  adventure,  and  determined  to  lead  it  For  this  enterprise 
seven  ships  were  equipped  in  the  harbor  of  Plymouth  and  fully  provided  with  all 
necessary  supplies.  Raleigh  was  deeply  interested  in  this  new  effort,  and  to  render 
it  successful  nothing  was  omitted  which  at  that  era  was  deemed  essential.  The  pres 
ence  of  Manteo  and  his  companion  had  excited  c  lively  interest  in  the  public  mind 
respecting  the  aborigines,  and,  in  order  to  acquire  correct  ideas  of  their  features, 
manners,  and  customs,  Raleigh  sent  out  Mr.  With,  or  Wyth,  a  skilful  writer.  A 
gentleman  of  his  household,  Thomas  Harriot,  a  noted  mathematician  and  scholar, 


EARLY  EUROPEAN  SETTLEMENTS.  67 

also  accompanied  the  expedition  for  the  purpose  of  describing  the  Indian  char 
acter.  Thomas  Cavendish,  who  afterwards  circumnavigated  the  globe,  was  one  of 
the  adventurers.  Manteo  returned  to  Virginia  as  guide  and  interpreter. 

The  ships  sailed  from  Plymouth  on  the  i)th  of  April,  carrying  one  hundred  and 
eight  colonists,  and,  after  crossing  the  Atlantic,  on  the  2Gth  of  June  anchored  off  the 
island  of  Occoquan.  At  this  time  the  principal  local  ruler  on  the  coast  was  Wingina, 
who  resided  on  the  island  of  Roanoke.  To  him  a  deputation  was  immediately 
despatched,  under  the  guidance  of  Manteo,  who  is  uniformly  praised  for  hia  fidelity. 

Other  parties  were  sent  off  in  different  directions  to  acquire  a  knowledge  of 
the  geography  and  make  inquiry  concerning  the  productions  of  the  country.  Sir 
Richard  himself  crossed  to  the  mainland  and  explored  the  villages  on  the  Chowan 
River,  where  he  involved  himself  and  attendants  in  hostilities  with  the  natives.  The 
manner  in  which  this  difficulty  arose  was  as  follows.  The  Indians  had  stolen  a 
silver  cup  from  his  mess-furniture,  in  revenge  for  which,  after  his  return  to  the 
island  of  Occoquan,  he  burned  their  village  and  destroyed  their  corn.  After  this 
impolitic  and  cruel  act,  he  suddenly  determined  to  return  to  England.  He  left  a 
colony  of  one  hundred  and  eight  persons  on  the  island  of  Occoquan,  over  whom 
he  appointed  Mr.  Ralph  Lane  governor.  On  his  route  home  he  visited  the  West 
Indies,  in  the  expectation  of  encountering  Spanish  vessels,  and,  having  captured  a 
large  ship,  returned  with  his  prize  to  Plymouth,  which  lie  reached  on  the  18th  of 
September,  after  an  absence  of  a  little  more  than  six  months. 

*?  Sir  Richard  Greenville's  exploratory  trip,  and  his  severity  towards  the  Indians, 
seconded  as  it  was  by  the  aggressive  policy  pursued  by  his  successors,  had  the  effect 
of  keeping  the  settlers  in  a  state  of  confusion  and  continual  dread  of  the  aborigines. 
It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  the  colonists  soon  found  that  they  were  regarded  by 
the  Indians  with  suspicion  and  mistrust.  Finesse  was  retaliated  by  finesse,  deception 
by  deception.  About  the  same  time  Granganameo,  their  best  friend,  died,  and  his 
death  was  followed  by  that  of  his  aged  father,  Ensenore.  A  general  state  of  un 
friendly  feeling  at  this  time  existed  towards  the  English.  The  colonists  planted 
nothing,  and  with  great  reluctance  the  Indians  partly  supplied  them  with  corn 
game,  and  fish,  which  at  length  they  withheld  altogether.  The  result  of  this  .non- 
intercourse  policy  was  that  parties  of  the  colonists  were  necessitated  to  forage  for 
supplies  on  the  islands,  and  some  on  the  mainland.  Finally  they  were  compelled  to 
subsist  on  roots  and  shell-fish,  until,  at  their  own  request,  they  were  carried  back  to 
England  in  the  fleet  of  Sir  Francis  Drake. 

Of  the  customs,  rites,  creed,  and  opinions  of  the  Indians,  Mr.  Harriot  gives  the 
following  account:  "They  believe  in  one  God,  who  is  self-existent  and  eternal,  and 
the  creator  of  the  world.  After  this  he  created  an  order  of  inferior  gods  to  carry 
out  his  government.  That  then  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars  were  created  as  instruments 
of  the  secondary  gods.  The  waters  were  then  made,  becoming  the  vital  principle  of 
all  creatures.  He  next  created  a  woman,  who,  by  the  congress  of  one  of  the  gods, 
brought  forth  children,  and  thence  mankind  had  their  beginnings.  They  thought 
the  gods  were  all  of  human  shape,  and  worshipped  them,  by  their  images,  dancing, 


68  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

singing,  and  praying,  with  offerings.  They  believed  in  the  immortality  of  the  soul, 
which  was  destined  to  future  happiness,  or  to  inhabit  Pupagnxsa,  a  pit  or  place  of 
torment,  where  the  sun  sets ;  and  this  doctrine  they  based  on  the  assertion  of  persons 
who  had  returned  after  death."  These  doctrines  are  said  to  have  had  much  weight 
with  the  common  Indians,  but  to  have  made  but  little  impression  on  their  Weroances, 
or  rulers,  and  priests.  How  accurately  they  were  reported,  and  how  much  they 
were  colored  by  Christian  predilections,  may  be  judged  of  from  the  known  repugnance 
of  the  native  sages  to  give  information  on  such  points,  from  their  soon  being  on  ill 
terms  or  at  opeii  war  with  the  English,  and  from  the  probability  that  some  of  the 
more  striking  characteristics  of  this  alleged  Indian  creed  had  been  derived  from 
traditions  related  by  Manteo  and  Granganameo,  the  first  a  baptized  convert,  and  the 
latter  a  politic  friend  of  the  English  and  an  admirer  of  their  manners. 

Wingina  himself  would  often  be  at  prayers  with  the  English,  it  having  been 
their  practice  to  read  the  service  publicly  in  the  presence  of  the  Indians.  But  it 
was  evident  that  they  deemed  the  English  great  necromancers,  possessing  almost  un 
limited  influence  with  the  gods,  firmly  believing  that  they  could  inflict  diseases,  insure 
death,  and  impart  vigor  to  the  growth  of  or  destroy  their  corn-crops.  The  use  of 
letters,  the  burning-glass,  mathematical  instruments,  clocks,  and  guns  seemed  to 
them  the  work  of  gods  rather  than  of  men,  and  the  terrors  of  the  latter  they  could 
neither  comprehend  hDr-  resist.  They  even  attributed  every  new  sickness  which 
appeared  among  them  to  wounds  from  unseen  bullets  discharged  by  invisible  agents 
in  the  air  around  them.  The  Bible,  which  was  read  by  the  English,  the  Indians 
considered  to  be  a  talisman,  whose  virtues  resided  in  the  material  of  the  book,  and 
not  in  its  spiritual  teachings.  They  deemed  it  a  favor  to  be  allowed  to  handle,  hug, 
and  kiss  it,  passing  it  over  their  faces,  and  rubbing  it  over  their  breasts. 

Mr.  Harriot  also  observed  that  they  had  great  veneration  for  a  certain  plant, — 
a  spontaneous  growth  of  the  country, — which  they  called  uppowoc,  but  which  was 
even  then  better  known  by  tue  name  of  tobacco.  The  leaves  of  this,  cured  and 
dried,  they  smoked  in  earthen  tubes,  drawing  up  the  smoke  by  inhalation.  The 
fumes  of  this  plant  were  offered  to  their  gods  with  ceremonial  rites  and  extravagant 
genuflections.  They  threw  its  dust  on  nets  to  consecrate  them  for  use,  and  into  the 
air  as  a  thanksgiving  for  dangers  past.  But  its  most  sacred  use  was  casting  it  into 
fires  kindled  for  sacrifice,  to  produce  a  kind  of  incense  to  heaven. 

Harriot  carefully  examined  the  productions  of  the  country,  especially  those  that 
would  furnish  commodities  for  commerce.  The  culture  of  maize,  and  its  extraordi 
nary  productiveness,  attracted  his  particular  attention,  and  he  found  the  tuberous 
roots  of  the  potato,  when  boiled,  to  be  excellent  food.  The  credit  of  introducing  this 
important  factor  in  the  world's  progress  into  Europe  seems  to  belong  to  Sir  Francis 
Drake,  who  was  also  the  first  to  discover  gold  in  California.1 

1  A  statue  of  Sir  Francis  Drake,  thus  inscribed,  "The  Introducer  of  the  Potato  into  Europe,  1586,"  was 
noticed  by  the  writer  at  Offenburg,  Germany,  a  few  years  since.  It  is  singular  that  it  has  been  left  fur  an 
obscure  German  town  to  recognize  thus  publicly  an  event  which  has  exerted  so  Tast  an  influence  upon  social 
economy. — F.  8.  D. 


EARLY  EUROPEAN  SETTLEMENTS.  69 

The  early  intercourse  of  the  English  with  the  Virginia  tribes  was  of  an  entirely 
friendly  character.  The  interests  of  both  parties  were  subserved.  The  Indians  were 
glad  to  exchange  their  commodities  for  European  fabrics,  of  which  they  stood  in 
need,  while  this  new  branch  of  commerce  promised  to  be  very  remunerative  to  the 
adventurers.  The  friendship  of  Powhatan's  brother,  Granganamco,  who  resided  on 
the  island  of  Roanoke,  was  secured  by  the  first  voyagers,  and,  through  the  means  of 
Mantco  and  Wasechoe,  who  accompanied  the  first  ships  on  their  returu  to  Eng 
land,  considerable  advance  was  made  in  the  study  of  the  habits  and  tribal  relations 
of  the  Indians,  and  of  the  geography  of  their  country.  Manteo,  having  made  some 
progress  in  English,  returned  from  England  with  the  colonists,  and  was  of  great  wr- 
vice  to  them  as  an  interpreter,  guide,  and  adviser.  Granganameo,  who  had  welcomed 
Amidas,  continued  to  be  friendly,  but  this  friendship  was  incited  by  a  motive  which 
did  not  at  first  appear.  He  expected  the  English  to  aid  him  against  Wingina,  his 
elder  brother,  or  half-brother, — a  powerful  and  ambitious  sachem, — who,  unfortu 
nately  for  the  English,  appears  not  to  have  yielded  to  the  sway  of  Powhatan,  and 
against  whom  he  was  consequently  at  war.  In  a  short  time  the  colonists  began  to 
regard  Wingina  with  great  suspicion.  They  watched  his  motions,  and  in  the  end 
accused  him  of  concocting  a  plot  to  exterminate  them.  Amidas  had  been  abundantly 
supplied  by  Granganameo  with  venison  and  fish,  and  he  had  been  received  by  his 
wife  at  Roanoke  during  the  absence  of  the  chief  with  great  attention  and  hospitality ; 
but  it  appeared  that  he  did  not  consider  the  island  to  be  a  safe  permanent  residence, 
for  on  a  subsequent  voyage  Sir  Ricluird  Greenville  found  him  located  at  Cape  Hat- 
teras.  One  of  the  first  acts  of  Sir  Richard  on  reaching  Occoquan  was  to  send  to  the 
island  of  Roanoke  and  announce  his  arrival  to  Wingina,  who  is  styled  "  the  king." 
Manteo  kept  up  friendly  relations  with  both  chieftains.  He  accompanied  an  agent 
to  visit  the  tribes  on  the  mainland,  and  proved  himself  a  very  trustworthy  person. 
Sir  Richard  was  so  much  pleased  with  this  reconnoissance  that,  accompanied  by  a 
select  body  of  men,  he  repeated  the  visit  to  the  mainland,  and  discovered  several 
Indian  towns.  During  this  excursion  occurred  the  loss  of  the  silver  cup,  already 
mentioned,  in  revenge  for  which  he  burned  an  Indian  town  and  destroyed  the  corn 
fields  of  its  inhabitants. 

After  committing  this  imprudent  action,  he  with  some  precipitancy  returned  to 
England,  consigning  the  government  of  the  colony  to  Mr.  Ralph  Lane,  and  the 
charge  ^f  the  ships  to  Captain  Amidas.  Mr.  Thomas  Harriot  was  directed  to  continue 
his  observations  on  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  Indians.  Lane  immediately 
removed  the  colony  to  Roanoke,  at  the  entrance  to  Albemarle  Sound,  and,  employing 
persons  to  make  a  thorough  survey  of  the  coast,  made  himself  acquainted  with  the 
geography  and  resources  of  the  country.  These  researches  extended  southwardly 
eighty  leagues  to  the  Neuse  River,  and  northwardly  to  the  territory  of  the  Chesa- 
peakes,  an  Indian  tribe  located  on  a  stream  named  by  the  English  Elizabeth  River.1 

>  The  name  Chesapeake  Bay  is  stated  by  Stith  to  be  derived  from  thii  tribe.  Others  bare  asserted  that 
in  the  Indian  language  it  meant  "  the  mother  of  waters."  The  word  ia  Algookio,  and  appear*  to  be  a  com- 


70  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

These  explorations  were  extended  towards  the  northwest,  up  the  Albemarle  Sound 
and  Chowan  River,  a  distance  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  miles.  Lane  personally 
directed  the  exploring  party,  and  was  accompanied  by  Hanteo.  The  Chowan  is 
formed  hy  the  junction  of  the  Meherrin  and  Nottoway.  At  this  point  Lane  entered 
the  country  of  the  Chowanocks.1  The  ruling  chief,  a  lame  man,  named  Menatonon, 
possessing  an  excellent  understanding,  told  Mr.  Lane  a  notable  story  of  a  copper- 
mine  and  a  pearl-fishery,  the  latter  of  which  he  located  on  the  const  He  inter 
mingled  his  narrative  with  a  strange  tale  that  the  head  of  the  Maratuc,  now  called 
Roanoke  River,  sprang  out  of  a  rock  which  was  so  close  to  the  sea  that  when  high 
winds  prevailed  the  "  foam  from  the  waves  was  driven  over  into  the  spring."  Pre 
suming  this  sea  to  be  an  arm  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  or  the  South  Sea  (Pacific), 
Lane  undertook  a  voyage  to  find  it.  Every  hardship  was  endured  while  prosecuting 
this  hazardous  undertaking  with  the  hope  of  making  golden  discoveries.  At  last 
the  explorers  were  compelled  to  subsist  on  a  pint  of  corn  per  day,  and  when  this 
was  exhausted  they  boiled  two  mastiff  dogs  with  sassafras-leaves.  After  some  days 
spent  in  a  fruitless  search,  the  adventurers  were  glad  to  return  to  their  quarters  at 
Roanoke. 

At  this  time  Granganameo  died.  He  had  been  the  tried  friend  of  the  English, 
and  wa<i  at  all  times  seconded  in  his  good  offices  by  his  father  Ensenore.  Their 
joint  influence  had  been  sufficient  to  restrain  Wingina's  malice  and  perfidy.  But 
after  Granganameo's  death,  being  afforded  a  free  scope  for  the  pursuit  of  his  machi 
nations,  he  at  once  changed  his  name  from  Wingina  to  Pemissapan,  and  became  the 
inveterate  enemy  of  the  Virginia  colonists.  By  his  representations  he  had  l>een 
instrumental  in  entailing  much  suffering  and  hardship  upon  Mr.  Lane  in  his  explo 
rations  of  the  Chowan  River ;  but  when  the  governor  returned,  bringing  with  him 
the  son  of  Chowanock  as  a  prisoner,  and  Manteo  and  others  related  the  bravery  and 
power  of  endurance  of  Lane's  company,  his  haughty  aspect  was  changed,  and  the 
bravado  speeches  made  during  their  absence  were  heard  no  more.  These  reports  of 
the  capacity  of  the  colonists  to  sustain  themselves  seem  to  have  greatly  increased  the 
respeci  entertained  by  the  Indians  for  the  whites,  and  to  have  aroused  a  strong  desire 
to  conciliate  the  favor  of  the  English.  A  present  of  pearl  was  accordingly  sent  to 
Mr.  Lane  from  Menatonon,  the  king  of  the  Chowanocks,  and  another  present  from 
Okisco,  the  chief  of  the  Weopemcoka,  a  powerful  coast-tribe.  These  friendly  demon 
strations  had  such  an  effect  upon  Wingina  that  he  directed  weirs  to  be  constructed 
for  the  supply  of  the  colonists  with  fish,  and  caused  them  to  be  taught  how  to  plant 

bination  of  the  terms  chrrg,  ashore,  and  abee.y,  waters,  which  compound  is  at  this  Jay  familiarly  used  by  these 
tribe*  to  signify  "  along  shore  ;"  bat  the  evident  meaning  of  the  name  in  its  relation  to  the  bay  was  intended 
to  convey  the  idea  of  long,  or  long-stretching,  or  magnificent  bay.  It  ia  probable  that  the  tribe  of  the 
Chesapeakes  received  their  name  from  their  position  at  the  foot  of  the  bay. 

1  Mr.  Jefferson  classifies  these  Indians  with  the  Iroquois.  The  name  is  Algonkin,  however,  and  denote* 
that  (contrary  to  Cusic,  vol.  v.  p.  C82)  the  Iroquois  had  immigrated  from  the  south.  The  meaning  t» 
nearly  the  same  as  that  of  Chowan  (southerners).  The  Chowans  were  a  well-known  Algonkiu  tribe,  native* 
of  the  south. 


EARLY  EUROPEAN  SETTLEMENTS.  71 

their  fields  of  corn.  But  this  friendship  was  speedily  interrupted  by  the  death  of 
the  venerable  and  wise  chief,  Ensenorc.  The  two  l>cst  friends  of  the  English  being 
now  dead,  Winginn,  under  j.rctence  of  celebrating  his  father's  funeral,  invited  a  large 
number  of  Indians  to  assemble,  with  the  intention  of  annihilating  the  colony  at  one 
blow.  The  plot  was  revealed  by  Skico,  the  son  of  Menatonon,  who  had  been  taken 
prisoner  by  the  expedition  to  the  head  of  the  (Jhowan  River. 

The  colonists  immediately  seized  all  the  Indian  canoes  on  the  ish'.nd,  thinking 
thus  to  entangle  the  Indians  in  their  own  toils.  Hut  the  latter  took  the  alarm,  and, 
after  a  skirmish  in  which  five  or  six  of  their  number  were  slain,  made  good  their 
escape  to  the  forest.  Both  parties  now  maintained  the  closest  watch  over  each  other's 
movements,  until,  after  much  manuMTvring,  Wingina  was  at  length  entrapped  and 
slain,  together  with  eight  of  his  principal  warriors. 

Although  the  death  of  Wingina  seemed  to  .have  prepared  the  way  for  a  more 
jwareful  occupation  of  the  country,  yet  a  general  scarcity  of  food, -combined  with  a 
ningular  concurrence  of  untoward  events,  finally  led  to  the  abandonment  of  the 
island.  The  stringency  of  affairs  at  Roanoko  had,  despite  the  efforts  of  industrious 
individuals,  been  greatly  increased  by  the  withdrawal  and  hostility  of  the  Indians, 
who  had  been  chiefly  relied  upon  for  supplies  of  food.  To  relieve  the  colony,  Captain 
Stafford,  a  prominent  and  energetic  man,  was  despatched  with  nineteen  men  to  the 
friendly  Indian  village  of  Croatnn,  on  Cape  Lookout,  with  the  twofold  purpose  of 
providing  sul»sistence  and  of  keeping  a  watch  for  shijw  expected  with  relief  from 
England.  They  had  not  been  there  more  than  seven  days  when  twenty-three  sail 
of  ships  made  their  appearance.  This  fleet  was  commanded  by  Sir  Francis  Drake, 
who  was  returning  from  an  expedition  against  the  Spaniards  in  the  West  Indies  and 
on  the  Spanish  main.  He  had  taken  Carthagena,  plundered  the  capital  of  Ilispa- 
niola,  and  burnt  the  towns  of  St.  Anthony  and  St.  Helena  on  the  Florida  coast. 
Having  received  orders  to  succor  the  Virginia  colony,  he  offered  them  a  ship  of 
seventy  tons'  burden,  one  hundred  men,  and  four  months'  provisions,  as  well  as  four 
smaller  vessels.  But  these  vessels  were  all  driven  to  sea  in  a  storm.  Drake  then 
tendered  them  a  ship  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  tons,  but  unfortunately  it  could  not 
be  navigated  into  the  harbor  of  Roanoke.  Under  these  circumstances,  and  in  view 
of  their  having  suffered  much  misery,  and  their  dangerous  position,  the  colonists, 
after  some  discussion,  determined  to  solicit  Sir  Francis  to  convey  fhem  to  England  in 
his  fleet.  This  favor  was  granted,  and  they  arrived  at  Portsmouth  in  July,  1586. 
On  this  trip  Governor  Lane  carried  the  first  tobacco-plant  from  Virginia  to  England. 
Drake  was  not  more  than  a  few  days'  sail  from  Roanoke  on  his  homeward  passage, 
when  a  ship  of  one  hundred  tons'  burden  arrived  from  England  with  the  expected 
supplies.  The  commander,  having  made  search  for  the  colonists  in  vain,  returned 
home  with  his  vessel.  About  a  fortnight  after  the  departure  of  the  latter  ship,  Sir 
Richard  Greenville  arrived  with  three  ships  and  ample  supplies.  Receiving  no 
intelligence  of  the  colony,  he  landed  fifty  men  on  the  island  of  Roanoke,  furnished 
them  with  provisions  for  two  years,  and  then  returned.  Of  these  successive  arrivals 
and  departures  the  Indians  remained  silent  spectators,  but  they  could  not  fail  to  be 


72  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

impressed  with  the  idea  that  a  nation  which  could  furnish  such  resources  was  not 
only  affluent  but  also  in  earnest 

During  the  month  of  July  of  the  following  year  (1587)  three  ships  arrived 
which  had  been  sent  out  by  Raleigh,  under  the  command  of  Governor  John  White, 
with  the  design  of  reinforcing  the  colony  and  permanently  establishing  it  as  the  foun 
dation  of  an  agricultural  State.  Making  Cape  Hatteras,  Governor  White  proceeded 
to  the  island  of  Roanoke  to  seek  for  the  fifty  men,  but  he  found  nothing  but  the 
skeleton  of  one  man.  The  buildings  were  not  destroyed,  but  the  fort  was  dilapidated, 
and  the  ground  in  its  vicinity  overgrown  with  weeds.  Governor  White  refitted  the 
houses,  resumed  the  occupancy  of  the  spot,  and  established  his  government,  laying 
there  the  foundations  of  a  city  called  Raleigh.  Mr.  Howe,  one  of  the  newly- 
appointed  council,  having  wandered  into  the  woods,  was  shot  by  one  of  Wingina's 
men.  Captain  Stafford,  with  twenty  men,  accompanied  by  Manteo,  who  had  sailed  to 
England  with  Drake  and  again  returned,  was  sent  to  Croatan  to  make  inquiries  as  to 
the  fate  of  the  fifty  colonists.  He  was  told  that  the  colony  had  been  attacked  by 
three  hundred  Secotan,  Aquoscojos,  and  Dessamopeak  Indians,  and  that  after  a 
skirmish,  in  which  but  one  Englishman  was  slain,  the  white  men  had  retreated  to 
their  boat  and  fled  to  a  small  island  near  Hatteras,  where  they  stayed  some  time, 
and  then  departed  they  knew  not  whither. 

Governor  White  took  immediate  steps  to  renew  a  good  understanding  with  the 
Indians,  but  he  found  them  sullen  and  revengeful.  Determining  to  evince  the 
national  indignation  for  the  loss  of  the  fifty  colonists  by  attacking  the  Dessamo- 
peaks,  who  occupied  the  coast  opposite  Roanoke,  he  detailed  for  this  purpose  twenty- 
four  men,  under  Captain  Stafford,  who,  with  Manteo  for  his  guide,  left  the  island  at 
twelve  o'clock  at  night.  At  daybreak  they  landed  on  the  main  shore,  beyond  the 
town,  and  assaulted  four  Indians  sitting  at  a  fire,  killing  one  of  them.  On  examina 
tion,  these  proved  to  be  friendly  Croatans,  who  had  come  thither  to  gather  their  corn, 
the  Dessamopeak  Indians  having  fled,  as  they  then  ascertained,  after  killing  Howe. 

On  the  13th  of  August,  1587,  Manteo,  who  had,  it  is  believed,  made  three  voyages 
to  England,  and  had  acquitted  himself  satisfactorily  as  the  Mentor  of  the  colony,  was 
baptized  in  the  Christian  faith,  receiving,  at  the  request  of  Sir  Walter  Raleigh,  the 
title  of  Lord  of  Roanoke.  Another  event  signalized  this  month :  the  daughter  of 
Governor  White,  married  to  Mr.  Dare,  a  member  of  the  council,  was,  on  the  18th, 
delivered  of  a  female  child,  which  received  the  name  of  Virginia,  the  first  child  born 
of  English  parents  on  the  soil  of  the  United  States. 

It  now  became  necessary  to  select  a  person  to  visit  England  and  solicit  supplies. 
The  Indians  being  generally  hostile,  the  colonists  could  not  cultivate  sufficient  ground 
to  sustain  themselves.  England  was  at  this  time  convulsed  with  alarm  in  expectation 
of  the  descent  of  the  Spanish  Armada,  and  it  was  justly  feared  that  the  interests  of 
the  distant  little  colony  would  be  overlooked.  White  being  selected,  before  leaving 
the  coast  he  established  a  colony  of  one  hundred  men  on  an  island  near  Cape  Hat 
teras.  Nothing  was  ever  subsequently  heard  of  this  party.  Whether  they  perished 
by  the  Indian  tomahawk  or  by  starvation  has  never  been  ascertained. 


EARLY  EUROPEAN  SETTLEMENTS.  73 

On  arriving  in  England,  White  found  the  nation  in  such  great  turmoil  that 
nothing  could  l>c  done.  The  company  underwent  a  change,  and  an  abortive  attempt 
was  made  to  send  two  barques  from  Bideford  in  1588.  Renewed  efforts  were  made 
to  succor  the  colony,  but  March,  1590,  had  arrived  before  relief  could  be  despatched 
to  them.  It  was  the  2d  of  August  when  the  ships  under  Governor  White  reached 
the  latitudes  of  Croatan  and  Hatteras.  At  the  latter  place  a  smoke  was  olmcrved, 
but,  after  diligent  search  where  the  governor  had  three  years  previously  left  a  colony 
of  one  hundred  men,  no  traces  of  them  could  l>c  found.  Cannon  were  fired,  but 
produced  no  other  response  than  their  own  rcvcrWations,  and  trumpets  were  sounded 
in  vain.  It  appeared  that  the  smoke  arose  from  Indian  fires  hastily  or  carelessly 
left.  While  prosecuting  their  search,  they  found  the  word  "  Croatan"  written  on  a 
jx)st,  and  hence  presumed  that  the  Hatteras  colony  had  gone  to  that  place,  where 
friendly  Indians  lived.  No  subsequent  search  developed  any  further  trace  of  them : 
their  fate  had  become  identified  with  the  mysteries  of  Indian  history.  The  attempt* 
made  to  find  this  colony  were,  however,  of  a  very  puerile  character.  In  the  effort 
first  made  under  Governor  White,  two  boats  were  despatched  with  a  competent  com 
mander,  but  in  passing  a  bar  on  the  Hatteras  coast  one  of  the  boats  WHS  half  filled 
with  water,  and  the  other  was  upset,  the  captain  and  six  men  being  drowned.  This 
accident  exercised  a  depressing  influence  on  the  spirits  of  all  concerned,  but  at 
length  two  other  boats  were  fitted  out  and  sent  oft"  with  nineteen  men  on  the  same 
service.  It  was  by  the  second  expedition  that  the  inscription  l>cforc  mentioned  wan 
found,  together  with  the  evidences  of  the  hasty  abandonment  of  the  place  by  the 
colonists.  Following  the  index  of  this  inscription,  the  commander  ordered  the  ships 
to  weigh  anchor  and  sail  for  Croatan,  on  Cape  Lookout.  While  proceeding  thither, 
one  of  the  vessels  parted  its  cable,  losing  not  only  the  anchor  attached,  but  also 
another  which  had  in  some  manner  become  entangled  with  it,  and  before  they  could 
drop  a  third  anchor  they  were  in  imminent  peril  of  being  driven  on  the  strand. 
Discouraged  by  these  attempts,  and  influenced  by  fallacious  hopes  of  profit  to  be 
derived  from  a  trip  to  the  West  Indies,  whence  they  proposed  to  return  in  the  spring 
and  resume  the  search,  they  bore  away  for  these  western  islands,  an  ever-attractive 
s]K)t  to  those  who  coveted  the  wealth  of  the  Spaniards.  But  the  commander  of  the 
ships,  after  he  had  finished  his  cruise  in  the  West  Indies,  would  not  again  visit  the 
Virginia  coast,  announcing  his  intention  to  return  to  England,  which  he  did  despite 
all  remonstrances.  Nothing  was  ever  heard  of  the  colony  supposed  to  have  gone  to 
Croatan,  and  the  return  of  Governor  White  to  England  was  a  virtual  abandonment 
of  Virginia,  after  six  years'  fruitless  toil,  to  the  possession  of  the  aborigines. 

During  the  same  year  which  witnessed  the  death  of  Queen  Elizabeth  and  the 
accession  of  James  I.,  Raleigh,  a  true  friend  of  Virginia  and  of  American  coloniza 
tion,  was  tried  for  the  crime  of  high  treason,  and  unjustly  condemned  to  death,  though 
his  execution  did  not  take  place  until  fifteen  years  afterwards.  In  1590  Virginia 
had  been  abandoned ;  and,  although  the  colonists  left,  at  Hattcras  were  not  entirely 
forgotten,  the  attempts  made  to  ascertain  their  fate  were  feeble,  and  proved  to  be  alto 
gether  futile.  The  Indian  tribes  may  be  supposed  to  have  achieved  a  triumph  in 

u—10 


74  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

driving  the  English  from  their  shores,  hut  the  state  of  discord  and  anarchy  in  which 
they  lived,  the  feeble  nature  of  the  ties  existing  between  them  as  tribes,  and  their 
absolute  want  of  any  stable  government,  were  not  calculated  to  fit  them  for  successful 
resistance  to  the  power  of  a  civilized  nation.  More  than  twelve  years  elapsed  before 
the  project  of  establishing  a  colony  on  the  shores  which  had  been  the  scene  of  the 
former  ineffectual  struggles  for  colonial  existence  was  again  broached.  The  most 
important  efforts,  made  by  the  proprietors  of  the  Virginia  company  were  the  voyage 
of  Bartholomew  Gosnold,  in  1602,  in  which  he  discovered  Cape  Cod,  Martha's  Vine 
yard,  and  the  Elizabeth  Islands,  and  that  of  Captain  Pring  and  Mr.  Saltern,  in  1G03, 
who  followed  nearly  the  same  track  as  that  pursued  by  Gosnold.  Two  years  subse 
quently,  George  Weymouth  visited  a  part  of  the  eastern  coast,  in  latitude  41°  20*, 
and  it  is  conjectured  from  his  descriptions  that  he  entered  either  Narragansett  Bay 
or  the  Connecticut  River.  On  every  side  were  found  tribes  of  the  Algonkin  lineage, 
speaking  the  same  language,  and  having  identical  manners  and  customs.  The 
natives  were  mild,  affable,  and  fond  of  traffic,  but  hostile  to  white  men,  and  very 
treacherous.  Nothing  more  conclusively  settles  the  question  of  their  nationality 
than  their  language.  They  obeyed  chiefs  who  were  called  sagamores,  and  they  had 
also  a  higher  class  of  rulers,  denominated  bashabas. 

Captain  Gosnold  made  such  favorable  reports  of  the  beauty  and  fertility  of  the 
country  he  had  visited,  and  of  its  many  advantages,  that  renewed  interest  was 
imparted  to  the  subject  of  colonization.  After  some  years  spent  in  advocating  the 
plan  of  a  colony,  Gosnold  induced  several  gentlemen  to  engage  in  it,  among  whom 
were  John  Smith,  Edward  Maria  Wingfield,  and  the  Rev.  Robert  Hunt  A  charter 
was  procured  from  King  James,  bearing  date  the  10th  of  April,  1606,  in  which 
Sir  Thomas  Gates,  Sir  George  Somers,  and  Richard  Hakluyt  were  vested  with  the 
necessary  authority.  Three  ships  were  provided,  and  placed  under  the  command  of 
Christopher  Newport,  who  sailed  from  England  on  the  19th  of  December.  After  a 
long  and  tedious  voyage,  which  was  rendered  more  disagreeable  by  violent  dissensions 
among  those  on  board,  the  ships  arrived  off  the  coast  on  the  26th  of  April,  1607,  at 
the  entrance  to  Chesapeake  Bay,  the  right  cape  of  which  was  named  Henry,  and  the 
left  Charles. 

How  the  Indian  tribes  would  receive  the  new  colony,  then  a  point  of  deep 
interest,  was  not  long  involved  in  doubt,  for  thirty  men  who  landed  on  Cape  Henry  to 
recreate  themselves  were  attacked  by  Indians  of  the  Chesapeake  tribe,  who  wounded 
two  of  them.  This  might  have  been  regarded  as  an  indication  that  the  colony  was 
destined  to  be  founded  by  the  aid  of  the  sword ;  and  such  literally  was  its  history, 
notwithstanding  the  fact  that  its  charter  enjoined  kindness  to  the  savages,  with 
the  use  of  all  proper  means  for  their  conversion.  After  passing  the  capes  of 
the  Chesapeake,  the  magnificent  beauty  of  the  surrounding  country,  the  great  fer 
tility  of  its  soil,  and  its  numerous  fruits  and  productions,  were  found  to  surpass  every 
anticipation.  Stith,  a  contemporary  historian,  in  speaking  of  it,  says,  "  Heaven  and 
earth  seem  never  to  have  agreed  better  to  frame  a  place  for  man's  accommodation 
and  delightful  habitation,  were  it  fully  cultivated  and  inhabited  by  an  industrious 


EARLY  EUROPEAN  SETTLEMENTS.  75 

people."  The  vessels  entered  the  waters  of  the  noble  Powhatan  River,  to  which 
the  name  of  James  was  given,  and  the  voyagers,  after  making  diligent  search  for  a 
location  for  the  colony,  at  length  selected  a  small  peninsula  on  the  north  shore  of 
the  river,  about  forty  miles  from  the  ocean.  The  town  which  was  here  founded, 
one  hundred  and  nine  years  after  the  discovery  of  the  American  continent  by  Cabot, 
was  called  Jamestown. 

The  English  were  now  surrounded  by  a  host  of  wild  men,  who  implicitly  obeyed 
the  behest  of  their  forest  monarch.  The  Indians  were  the  proprietors  of  a  country 
abounding  in  game,  fish,  fowl,  and  every  provision  of  nature  for  the  sustenance  of 
man,  and  cultivated  a  fertile  soil,  from  which  they  gathered  abundant  crops  of  corn. 
No  part  of  America  abounds  in  more  magnificent  scenery  than  may  be  here  found 
along  the  rivers,  or  in  the  beautiful  grouping  of  mountains,  forests,  and  plains. 
Powhatan  had  raised  himself  to  a  kind  of  kingly  eminence  by  his  bravery,  energy, 
and  wisdom  in  council.  In  addition  to  his  claim  to  the  dignity  by  hereditary  right, 
he  derived  a  title  by  the  conquest  of  the  surrounding  tribes,  and  his  position  had 
been  greatly  strengthened  by  the  practice  of  polygamy,  which  surrounded  the  chief 
with  a  numerous  kindred,  both  lineal  and  collateral.  At  the  time  of  the  settlement 
of  Virginia,  Powhatan  was  about  sixty  years  of  age,  and,  though  the  era  of  his 
personal  prowess  had  passed  away,  he  wielded  undiminished  sway  as  the  reigning 
chief,  both  in  his  lodge  and  at  the  council-fire.  His  head  was  then  somewhat  hoary, 
and  this  fact,  together  with  his  stature,  carriage,  and  countenance,  gave  him  an  air 
of  savage  majesty.  The  confederacy  of  which  he  was  the  ruler  comprised  thirty 
tribes,  numbering  about  twenty-four  thousand  souls.  It  was  estimated  that  there 
were  five  thousand  persons  then  residing  within  sixty  miles  of  Jamestown,  of  whom 
fifteen  hundred  were  warriors.  The  people  of  these  tribes  detested  civilization  in  all 
its  forms,  and  despised  labor,  arts,  letters,  and  Christianity.  The  conduct  of  Pow 
hatan,  as  well  as  that  of  his  stalwart  chiefs  and  followers,  presents  an  instance  of 
that  Indian  duplicity  which  conceals  hatred  under  the  most  mild,  docile,  dignified, 
and  respectful  bearing.  It  soon,  however,  became  evident  that  the  calmness  of  the 
Indians  too  much  resembled  a  lull  of  the  tempest.  The  policy  of  Wingina,  on  the 
sandy  coast  of  Albemarle  Sound,  which  developed  itself  a  few  years  earlier,  was 
the  same  as  that  which  governed  Powhatan.  Surrounded  by  thirty  tribes  and  five 
thousand  warriors,  how  long  could  the  colonists  have  reasonably  expected  to  remain 
unmolested?  When  the  first  ship  returned  to  England  it  left  but  one  hundred 
white  men  in  Virginia.  The  dissensions  which  soon  originated  among  them  were 
aggravated  by  sickness,  improvidence,  and  the  exhaustion  of  their  supply  of  pro 
visions.  The  Indians,  who  at  first  appeared  to  be  friendly,  now  assumed  a  hostile 
attitude  and  attacked  the  town.  No  more  corn  being  delivered,  speedy  ruin  im 
pended,  and  had  it  not  been  for  John  Smith,  who  stepped  forward  in  this  emergency, 
utter  destruction  to  the  colony  must  have  resulted. 

Captain  John  Smith  was  the  true  founder  of  Virginia.  He  was  born  in  Wil- 
loughby,  Lincolnshire,  England,  in  1579,  and  after  many  adventures,  and  having 
acquired  a  high  reputation  for  courage  and  sound  judgment,  embarked,  at  the  age 

' 


76  -THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

of  twenty-err,  for  Virginia.  Named  one  of  the  council,  he,  with  Captain  Newport, 
headed  an  expedition  to  discover  the  source  of  the  James  River.  He  became  the 
real  head  of  the  colony,  and  to  his  almost  unaided  efforts  the  salvation  of  the  infant 
settlement  was  owing.  September  10,  1608,  he  was  inaugurated  president  of  the 
colony.  Having  been  severely  burned  by  the  explosion  of  a  bag  of  gunpowder,  and 
feeling  the  want  of  surgical  skill,  and  tired  also  of  the  struggle  with  malicious  enemies, 
he  returned  to  England  in  the  autumn  of  1609.  In  subsequent  voyages  he  made 
important  explorations  of  the  New  England  coast,  and  spared  neither  time  nor  labor 
to  advance  the  colonization  of  America.  He  was  of  an  enthusiastic,  determined,  and 
uncompromising  spirit,  and  this  made  him  many  enemies.  His  "  Generall  Historic 
of  Virginia,"  and  his  "True  Travels,  Adventures,  and  Observations,"  are  important 
contributions  to  the  early  history  of  the  country.  He  died  in  London  in  1631. 

We  do  not  propose  to  enter  here  into  a  detail  of  that  remarkable  instance  of 
heroism  displayed  by  Pocahontas  when  she  offered  her  life  as  a  ransom  for  that  of 
the  intrepid  captive  and  thus  unwittingly  placed  herself  in  the  position  of  guardian 
angel  of  the  colony.  The  narrative  is  familiar  to  all,  and  history  nowhere  records  a 
stronger  case  of  spontaneous  sympathy  elicited  under  parallel  circumstances.  But 
the  redemption  of  the  life  of  Smith  was  the  salvation  of  the  colony,  and  from  this 
period  we  may  date  the  exercise  of  that  influence  which  induced  Powhatan  to  assume 
at  first  a  neutral  position,  and  then  a  friendly  one.  This  influence,  however,  although 
it  enabled  the  colony  to  pass  through  its  incipient  trials,  was  soon  withdrawn.  Poca 
hontas  lived  only  eight  years  (1616)  after  the  foundation  of  Jamestown,  and  Pow 
hatan  but  ten  (1618).  At  the  age  of  seventy  his  mortal  remains  were  laid  beside 
those  of  his  fathers,  and  nothing  remained  of  the  chief  who  was  once  the  terror  of 
the  coast-tribes  and  the  colonists  but  his  name.  Properly  estimated,  Powhatan  was 
not  a  great  man.  Bravery,  energy,  and  prudence  he  evidently  possessed,  and  among 
the  tribes  he  had  enjoyed  a  high  reputation  and  was  obeyed  as  a  prince. 

But  there  was  one  of  his  brothers  who  possessed  a  more  comprehensive  mind, 
more  firmness  of  character,  and  greater  power  of  intellect,  and  was  equally  courageous 
and  active.  This  was  Opechancanough,  who  captured  Smith  near  the  hill-sources 
of  the  Chickahominy.  Opechancanough  was  six  feet  high,  had  a  large  frame,  and 
possessed  great  physical  power  and  activity.  He  had  a  head  of  grand  and  noble 
outlines,  with  a  countenance  grave,  severe,  and  inflexible.  While  Powhatan  lived, 
Opechancanough  was  under  his  influence,  but  the  former  was  no  sooner  dead  than  he 
plotted  the  destruction  of  the  colony.  His  plans  were  carefully  concealed  for  several 
years  after  the  decease  of  his  distinguished  brother ;  nor  were  they  ever  revealed 
until  the  night  preceding  the  very  day  on  which  the  massacre  took  place, — on  the 
22d  of  March,  1622.  Four  years  had  elapsed  after  the  death  of  Powhatan  before 
Opechancanough  could  consummate  the  plot.  Its  realization  was  preceded  by  a 
striking  incident  Among  the  warriors  who  had  attracted  the  notice  of  their  brethren 
was  Nemattanow,  who  deemed  himself  invulnerable.  He  had  been  engaged  in  many 
battles,  but,  having  escaped  without  a  wound,  his  vanity  was  much  inflated,  and  the 
Indians  regarded  him  as  a  person  who  could  not  be  killed.  Owing  to  some  pecu- 


EARLY  EUROPEAN  SETTLEMENTS.  77 

liarity  of  his  head-dress,  he  was  known  as  Jack  of  the  Feather.  This  man  called 
on  a  trader  named  Morgan,  and,  coveting  some  of  the  goods  belonging  to  the  latter, 
requested  his  company  to  a  place  where  he  stated  that  a  good  traflic  could  be  con 
ducted.  While  journeying  together  through  the  woods,  the  Indian  murdered  Morgan, 
and  within  a  few  days  thereafter  he  reappeared  at  Morgan's  store,  wearing  the  cap  of 
the  deceased-  Two  stout  and  fearless  lads  who  had  charge  of  the  store  asking  him 
for  tidings  of  their  master,  Jack  replied  that  he  was  dead.  Thereupon  they  seized 
the  Indian,  with  the  intention  of  conveying  him  before  a  magistrate,  but  the  captive 
made  such  resistance  after  being  placed  in  the  boat  which  was  used  as  the  means  of 
conveyance  that  the  boys  shot  him.  He  was  not  immediately  killed,  but,  knowing 
the  close  of  his  career  to  be  near  at  hand,  he  begged  they  would  not  tell  his  tribes 
men  that  he  had  been  killed  by  an  English  bullet,  and  desired  them  to  conceal  his 
body  by  interring  it  in  an  English  burial-ground. 

Opechancanough  affected  to  be  much  grieved  at  the  death  of  this  man,  but  he 
was  really  gratified  that  he  was  out  of  the  way,  and  made  use  of  the  circumstance  as 
a  cloak  to  cover  his  own  deception.  He  had  previously  attempted  to  convene  a  large 
assemblage  of  Indians  under  the  pretence  of  doing  honor  to  the  remains  of  Pow- 
hatan  ;  but  his  design  had  been  frustrated.  In  order  the  more  effectually  to  accom 
plish  his  object,  he  resolved  to  enforce  strict  secrecy  among  his  followers,  and  to 
make  no  manifestation  of  hostility  until  the  time  chosen  for  a  general  attack.  He 
counselled  the  Indians  in  every  part  of  the  country  to  fly  to  arms  on  an  appointed 
day  and  at  the  same  hour,  when  they  were  to  spare  no  one  with  an  English  face, 
whether  man,  woman,  or  child.  At  the  timo  designated  (March  22,  1622)  the 
Indians  suddenly  rose,  and  perpetrated  the  most  cruel  and  sanguinary  massacre. 
Three  hundred  and  forty-seven  men,  women,  and  children,  scattered  through  distant 
villages  extending  one  hundred  and  forty  miles  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  fell  during 
one  morning,  and  six  of  the  colonial  council  were  numbered  with  the  slain.  One  of 
the  first  victims  was  Mr.  George  Thorp,  the  benefactor,  teacher,  counsellor,  and  friend 
of  the  natives.  He  had  left  England  with  the  hope  of  effecting  their  conversion  to 
Christianity,  and  had  on  all  occasions  been  their  most  kind,  undeviating  friend.  He 
had  built  a  house  for  the  chief,  and  was  about  to  found  a  college  for  the  instruction 
of  Indian  youth.  The  slaughter  would  have  been  still  greater  had  not  an  Indian 
convert,  named  Chanco,  chanced  to  sleep  the  previous  night  with  a  friend,  and 
revealed  to  him  the  plot,  by  which  incident  the  people  of  Jamestown  and  its  environs, 
being  immediately  apprised  of  it,  were  enabled  to  take  the  necessary  precautions  for 
their  own  security,  and  thus  the  larger  part  of  the  colony  was  saved. 

A  war  of  extermination  ensued.  In  July  of  the  following  year  the  inhabitants 
of  several  settlements,  in  parties,  fell  upon  the  neighboring  tribes,  and  a  law  of  the 
General  Assembly  commanded  that  in  July,  1624,  the  attack  should  be  repeated. 
Six  years  later  the  colonial  statutes  insisted  that  no  peace  should  be  concluded  with 
the  Indians,  a  law  that  remained  in  force  till  a  treaty  was  made  during  the  adminis 
tration  of  Harvey.  One  more  attempt  at  a  general  massacre  occurred  on  the  18th 
of  April,  1644,  when  three  hundred  victims  fell.  Prompt  measures  for  security 


78  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATE& 

were  taken  by  the  English,  and  the  aged  Opechancanongh  was  made  a  prisoner,  and 
died  in  captivity  of  wounds  inflicted  by  a  brutal  soldier.  A  border  warfare  was 
finally  ended  in  October,  1646,  by  submission  and  a  cession  of  lands  by  Necotowanee, 
his  successor,  and  the  original  owners  of  the  soil  gradually  receded  from  the  settle 
ments,  leaving  in  the  names  of  the  rivers  and  mountains  the  only  remaining 
memorials  of  their  former  existence. 

The  earliest  accounts  of  the  Indian  population  begin  in  conjecture  and  uncer 
tainty.  Mr.  Jefferson  informs  us  that  when  the  first  effectual  settlement  of  Virginia 
was  made,  in  1607,  the  littoral  and  forest  regions  between  the  Potomac  and  James 
Rivers,  extending  to  the  mountains,  contained  upwards  of  forty  different  tribes, 
including  the  Monacans  or  upper  tribes.1  He  represents  the  territories  lying  south  of 
the  Potomac,  comprehending  the  Powhatanic  confederacy,  as  containing  about  eight 
thousand  inhabitants,  of  whom  three  in  ten  were  warriors.  There  were  probably 
about  two  thousand  four  hundred  fighting-men.  It  appears  that  when  the  Virginia 
Legislature  turned  its  attention  to  the  number  of  the  Indian  tribes  within  its  bounds, 
in  1669,  they  were  reduced  to  five  hundred  and  eighteen  warriors,  or  two  thousand 
six  hundred  persons,  denoting  a  decline  of  over  two-thirds  of  the  entire  population 
in  sixty-two  years.  Regarding  the  forty  coast  and  midland  tribes,  nothing  further 
was  ever  published  in  an  official  form,  and  they  seem  to  have  reached  the  lowest 
point  of  their  depression  at  the  date  of  Mr.  Jefferson's  Notes,  in  1781.*  The  account 
he  gives  of  the  Virginia  tribes  is  the  most  authentic  extant.  "  Very  little  can  now 
lie  discovered  of  the  subsequent  history  of  these  tribes  severally.  The  Chickahom- 
ones  removed,  about  the  year  1661,  to  Mattapony  River.  Their  chief,  with  one  from 
each  of  the  Pamunkies  and  Mattaponies,  attended  the  treaty  of  Albany,  in  1685. 
This  seems  to  have  been  the  last  chapter  in  their  history.  They  retained,  however, 
their  separate  name  so  late  as  1705,  and  were  at  length  blended  with  the  Pamunkies 
and  Mattaponies,  and  exist  at  present  only  under  their  names.  There  remain  of  the 
Mattaponies  three  or  four  men  only,  and  they  have  more  negro  than  Indian  blood  in 
them.  They  have  lost  their  language,  have  reduced  themselves  by  voluntary  sales  to 

1  These  tribes  were  of  Iroqnois  lineage.  They  were  located  entirely  above  the  falls  of  the  leading  Vir 
ginia  riven.  Their  language  was  BO  diverse  from  the  Powhatanic  dialects,  which  were  of  the  Algonkio  group, 
that  not  a  word  could  be  understood  without  interpreters.  They  were  called  also  Tuscaroras  in  the  early 
period  of  Virginia.  Mr.  Jefferson  reveals  the  fact  (Notes,  p.  155)  that  the  Erics,  called  by  him  Erigaa,  who 
had  formerly  occupied  the  Ohio  Valley  (and  were  then  by  inference  in  Virginia  and  North  Carolina,  east  of 
the  Alleghanies),  were  of  kindred  lineage,  and  bad  belonged  to  the  stock  of  the  Five  Nations,  or,  as  they 
were  called  by  the  Virginia  Indians,  Mauaicomack. 

1  Verbal  information  on  which  we  may  rely  describes  the  existence  of  a  remnant  of  the  Aecomacs  of 
Virginia  in  the  county  of  Northampton.  Of  their  numbers  and  condition  nothing  is  known.  It  is  also  stated 
that  there  are  a  few  descendants  of  the  Nottoways  residing  in  that  State  in  amalgamation  with  the  African 
race.  Hon.  Henry  A.  Wise,  of  Virginia,  informed  Mr.  Schoolcraft  that  the  Gingaskins,  a  part  of  the  Acoomao 
tribe,  had  their  lands  in  common  as  late  as  1812.  The  principal  seat  of  the  Accomac  tribe  was  the  upper  part 
of  Accomac,— the  Gingaskins  living  near  Eastville,  in  Northampton  County.  In  1812  an  act  was  passed 
dividing  their  lauds,  which  were  held  by  them  till  the  Nat  Turner  insurrection,  say  1833,  when  they  were 
treated  as  free  negroes  and  driven  off. 


EARLY  EUROPEAN  SETTLEMENTS.  79 

about  fitly  acres  of  land,  which  lie  on  the  river  of  their  own  name,  and  have  from 
time  to  time  been  joining  the  Pamunkics,  from  whom  they  are  distant  but  ten  miles. 
The  Pamunkies  are  reduced  to  about  ten  or  twelve  men,  tolerably  pure  from  mixture 
with  other  colors.  The  older  ones  among  them  preserve  their  language  in  a  small 
degree,  which  are  the  last  vestiges  on  earth,  so  far  as  we  know,  of  the  Powhatan 
language.  They  have  about  three  hundred  acres  of  very  fertile  land  on  Pamunky 
Iliver,  so  encompassed  by  water  that  a  gate  shuts  in  the  whole.  Of  the  Nottoways1 
not  a  male  is  left.  A  few  women  constitute  the  remains  of  that  tribe.  They  are 
seated  on  Southampton  River,  on  very  fertile  land.  At  u  very  early  period  certain 
lands  were  marked  out  and  appropriated  to  these  tribes,  and  were  kept  from  encroach 
ment  by  the  authority  of  the  laws.  They  have  usually  had  trustees  appointed, 
whose  duty  it  was  to  watch  over  their  interests  and  guard  them  from  insult  and 
injury."  It  has  been  the  generous  design  of  Virginia's  statesmen  and  legislators  to 
stay  the  decline  of  a  people  who  were  hastening  to  extinction  by  reason  of  their 
contact  with  a  civilization  to  which  they  as  a  race  seem  very  ill  adapted.  It  was  the 
littoral  tribes  of  that  State  which  in  early  days  suffered  most  severely  from  contact 
with  Europeans.  The  upper  tribes,  who  were  of  Iroquois  lineage,  were  less  exposed 
to  deteriorating  influences.  "The  Monacans  and  their  friends,"  says  Jefferson, 
"better  known  latterly  as  Tuscaroras,  were  probably  connected  with  the  Massa- 
•womacks,  or  Five  Nations.  For  though  we  are  told  their  languages  were  so  different 
that  the  intervention  of  interpreters  was  necessary  between  them,  yet  do  we  also 
learn  that  the  Erigas,  a  nation  formerly  inhabiting  on  the  Ohio,  were  of  the  same 
original  stock  with  the  Five  Nations,  and  that  they  partook  also  cf  the  Tuscarora 
language.  Their  dialects  might  by  long  separation  have  become  so  unlike  as  to  be 
unintelligible  to  one  another.  We  know  that  in  1712  the  Five  Nations  received 
the  Tuscaroras  into  their  confederacy,  making  them  the  sixth  nation.  They  received 
the  Meherrins,  or  Tutclos,  also  into  their  protection,  and  it  is  most  probable  that 
many  other  of  the  kindred  tribes,  of  whom  we  find  no  particular  account,  retired 
westwardly  in  like  manner,  and  were  incorporated  into  one  or  other  of  the  western 
tribes.'"  ' 

In  1880  the  United  States  Census  reported  the  total  number  of  Indians  in 
Virginia  at  eighty-five. 

1  This  word  appears  to  be  of  Algnnkin  origin.  Nadowny  in  the  diulect»  of  the  Western  mil  Lake 
Algotikins — as  the  Cliippewas,  Ottawas,  Puttawutumics,  etc. — is  the  term  Tor  an  Iroqnois.  It  is  a  derogatory 
term  in  those  languages, — equivalent  to  that  of  viper  or  beast,  from  their  striking  in  secret.  It  is  a  compound 
word,  having  its  apparent  origin  in  nado,  an  adder,  and  atcarie,  a  beast.  According  to  Mr.  Jefferson,  the 
NoUoways,  with  the  Tutelos,  or  Mchcrrins,  were  Monacans,  who  used  the  generic  language  of  the  Iroquois. 
It  was  not,  therefore,  a  name  of  their  own  choosing,  but  was  probably  a  nickname  given  by  Indiana  of  the 
Powhatauic  tribes. 

'  This  view  of  .lie  decline  of  the  Monacan  stock  of  Virginia  is  confirmed  by  all  thai  we  know  of  their 
history.  The  Monacans,  who  occupied  the  country  at  the  foot  of  the  Alleghanies  and  above  the  falls  of  the 
Virginia  riven,  were  the  natural  enemies  of  the  colonist*  during  the  whole  early  history  of  Virginia,  and 
when  difficulties  occurred  with  the  aborigines  they  naturally  sided  with  the  Powhatanie  tribes. 


CHAPTER   IL 

THE  HUDSON  RIVER  EXPLORED— THE  DUTCH  SETTLE  MANHATTAN— INDIAN 
WAR— MANHATTAN  BECOMES  THE  ENGLISH  COLONY  OF  NEW  YORK— INDIANS 
OF  NEW  YORK. 

THE  colonization  of  New  York  followed  soon  after  the  discovery  of  the  Cohahatea, 
or  Hudson  River.  While  Virginia  was  strengthening  her  foundations  among  the 
powerful  and  hostile  Powhatanic  tribes  of  the  Algonkin  stock,  another  settlement  of 
whites  sprang  into  existence  among  the  more  northerly  sea-coast  families.  Only  two 
years  subsequent  to  the  founding  of  Jamestown,  Hendrick  Hudson  entered  the  Bay 
of  New  York,  which  was  first  discovered  by  Verazzani  in  1524,  although  the  large 
river  of  which  it  is  the  recipient  still  continued  unexplored.  Hudson  appears  to 
have  passed  the  point  now  called  Sandy  Hook  on  the  3d  day  of  September,  1609. 
He  remained  in  the  bay  several  days,  making  surveys  and  trafficking  with  the 
Indians.  From  the  notes  of  his  surveys,  he  seems  to  have  kept  close  along  the 
southern  parts  of  the  bay,  the  natives  of  which  appeared  to  be  friendly.  These 
shores  were  occupied  by  the  Navisinks,  Sanhikins,  and  other  bands  of  the  Mississa 
totem  of  the  Lenni  Lenape  (Algonkin)  family.  The  northern  shores  of  the  bay 
and  Manhattan  Island  were  occupied  by  the  Mohicans,  or  Wolf  totem  of  the  same 
subgenus  of  the  original  stock.  The  Metoacs  of  Long  Island  were  of  the  same 
type.  Between  these  two  totemic  types  there  existed  either  smothered  hostility  or 
open  war.  They  kept  Hudson  in  a  state  of  constant  perplexity,  and,  regarding  all 
red  men  with  equal  mistrust,  he  was  ever  on  his  guard  against  treachery.  Of  all  the 
bands,  however,  he  found  that  of  Hell  Gate,  or  the  Manhattans,  to  be  the  fiercest. 
On  the  third  day  after  sailing  up  the  bay  he  sent  out  a  boat  in  charge  of  his  mate, 
Colman,  to  examine  the  East  River.  An  open  sea  was  found  beyond.  While  the 
exploring  party  were  returning  to  the  vessel,  the  Manhattans  attacked  them  and  killed 
the  mate,  who  received  an  arrow  in  his  throat  These  Indians  possessed  implements 
of  copper,  and  earthen  cooking-utensils,  the  art  of  making  which  was  at  this  period 
common  to  all  the  coast-tribes,  but,  the  use  of  the  brass  kettle  having  been  introduced 
among  them  by  Europeans,  they  very  soon  ceased  to  manufacture  earthen-ware. 
They  offered  Hudson  green  tobacco  as  a  most  valuable  present,  and  had  an  abundance 
of  maize,  which  he  called  Indian  wheat  They  also  brought  him  oysters,  beans,  and 
some  dried  fruits.  These  Indians  dressed  in  doer-skin  robes,  and  possessed  mantles 
made  of  feathers  and  also  of  furs'.  There  is  no  evidence  to  prove  that  they  did  not 
live  in  a  state  of  anarchy,  without  uny  government  save  that  of  petty  independent 
chieftainships,  the  curse  of  all  savage  and  barbarous  tribes.  On  the  afternoon  of  the 
80 


EARLY  EUROPEAN  SETTLEMENTS.  81 

7th  of  September,  Hudson  began  to  ascend  the  river,  but  progressed  only  two  leagues 
the  first  day,  sailing  with  extreme  caution  during  the  day,  sounding  frequently,  and 
casting  anchor  at  night.  Twelve  days  elapsed  before  he  reached  a  point  opposite  to 
or  above  the  present  city  of  Hudson.  The  general  features  of  the  country  in  that 
part  of  the  valley  are  mentioned  by  him.  Having  arrived,  on  the  22d,  at  a  place 
where  the  soundings  denoted  shoal  water,  Hudson  despatched  his  boat  to  make  further 
explorations.  It  returned  the  following  night  at  ten  o'clock,  having  progressed  only 
eight  or  nine  leagues,  and  the  crew  reported  finding  but  seven  feet  seven  inches 
soundings,  which  would  seem  to  indicate  that  they  had  reached  the  present  site  of 
Albany.  The  Indians,  as  high  as  they  had  proceeded,  were,  by  the  names,  apparently 
of  the  Algonkin  family.  If  the  explorers  really  ascended  in  their  boat  as  far  as  the 
present  position  of  Albany,  they  entered  the  country  of  the  Mohawk  tribe  of  the 
Iroquois  nation,  whose  summer  residence  was  on  the  island.  The  tribes  maintained 
a  hostile  attitude  until  Hudson  had  passed  the  Highlands,  but  those  he  subsequently 
encountered  evinced  great  friendliness,  as  well  as  mildness  of  manners,  and  hence 
are  called  by  him  "  a  loving  people."  The  Indians  visited  the  strangers  on  board 
their  ship,  and  several  excursions  were  made  by  the  crew  on  the  shore.  On  one 
occasion  two  venerable  chiefs,  accompanied  by  their  sons  and  daughters,  were  enter 
tained  by  Hudson  in  his  cabin.  These  interchanges  of  civility  characterize  this  part 
of  the  voyage,  and  furnish  striking  evidence  of  the  beneficial  effects  of  kindness  in 
dealing  with  the  red  man.  On  the  20th  of  the  month,  while  the  ship  lay  at  anchor 
at  one  of  the  highest  points  attained,  Hudson  tried  the  experiment  of  giving  his 
aboriginal  guests  a  taste  of  alcoholic  drinks.  The  description  of  this  event  may  be 
entertaining  for  its  quaintness :  "  Our  master  and  his  mate  determined  to  try  some  of 
the  chiefest  men  of  the  country,  whether  they  had  any  treachery  in  them,  so  they 
took  them  into  the  cabin,  and  gave  them  so  much  wine  and  aqua  vitae,  that  they  were 
all  merrie,  and  one  of  them  had  his  wife  with  him,  which  sat  as  modestly  as  any  of 
our  country  women  could  do  in  a  strange  place.  In  the  end  one  of  them  was  drunk,1 
which  had  been  on  board  of  our  ship  all  the  ti:ne  that  we  had  been  there,  and  that 
was  strange  to  them,  for  they  could  not  tell  how  to  take  it.  The  canoes  and  folks  all 
went  on  shore,  but  some  of  them  came  again,  and  brought  strings  of  beads  (wam 
pum),  some  had  six,  seven,  eight,  nine,  ten,  which  they  gave  the  inebriate.  The 
drunken  man  slept  all  night  quietly." 

The  Indians  below  the  Highlands  who  were  found  to  be  hostile  on  the  ascent 
proved  doubly  so  during  the  descent.  The  narrowness  of  the  channel  in  some  places 
gave  them  the  opportunity  of  using  their  arrows  with  effect,  and  they  assembled  on 
several  of  the  most  prominent  headlands  in  great  force.  But  the  intrepidity  of 
Hudson  foiled  every  effort.  By  his  musketry,  and  by  the  discharges  from  a  culverin, 

1  This  scene  of  intoxication  is  erroneously  placed  bj  Mr.  Hcckewelder  on  Manhattan  Island,  and  the 
island  itself  is  stated  to  have  been  named,  from  the  circumstance,  "  the  place  where  we  all  got  drunk." 
Doubtless  some  old  Indian  had  imposed  on  his  credulity  in  this,  as  in  other  cases  named  in  his  historical 
account  of  the  Delaware  tribes.  Stone  has  been  misled  bj  this. 

11—11 


82  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

he  killed  several  of  them  and  dispersed  the  rest.  He  got  through  the  mountains  on 
the  1st  of  October.  Below  this  one  of  their  canoes,  containing  one  man,  pertina 
ciously  followed  the  ship.  This  individual,  having  climbed  up  the  rudder,  crept  into 
the  cabin-window,  and  stole  two  bandoleers,  a  pillow,  and  two  shirts,  for  which  theft 
the  mate  shot  him  dead.  The  Indians  followed  the  vessel,  and  a  running  skirmish 
ensued,  in  which  several  of  the  pursuers  were  killed.  On  the  4th,  Hudson  reached 
the  bay,  where,  being  favored  by  the  wind,  he  made  no  attempt  to  land,  but  put  out 
to  sea,  arriving  at  Dartmouth,  England,  on  the  7th  of  November. 
-  The  only  name  bestowed  by  him  on  the  stream  appears  to  have  been  that  of  The 
Great  River. 

About  the  year  1614  the  first  rude  fort  was  erected  by  the  Dutch,  probably  on 
the  southern  part  of  Manhattan  Island.  In  1623  the  country  from  the  southern 
shore  of  Delaware  Bay  to  New  Holland,  or  Cape  Cod,  became  known  as  New  Neth 
erlands.  The  new  block-house  on  Manhattan  became  the  nucleus  of  a  colony,  and 
Peter  Minuit,  agent  of  the  West  India  Company,  held  for  the  ensuing  six  years  the 
-  •  •  *  office  of  governor. 

In  February,  1643,  a  small  party  of  Mohawks  from  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Orange, 
armed  with  muskets,  emerged  from  their  fastnesses,  and  claimed  tribute  of  the 
Algonkins  around  Manhattan.  These  more  numerous  but  less  warlike  tribes,  upon 
the  approach  of  the  formidable  Mohawks,  terror-struck,  begged  the  assistance  of  the 
Dutch,  between  whom  and  themselves  petty  injuries  had  caused  bad  blood.  Kieft, 
the  Dutch  governor,  seized  the  opportunity  for  an  exterminating  massacre.  On 
the  night  of  February  25  the  soldiers  from  the  fort,  joined  by  some  privateersmen, 
crossed  the  Hudson,  and,  falling  upon  the  unsuspecting  natives,  massacred  nearly 
one  hundred  of  them.  This  cruel  and  impolitic  act  was  terribly  avenged :  villages 
were  laid  waste  from-^ew  Jersey  to  Connecticut,  settlers  were  slain  in  the  fields,  and 
children  carried  into  captivity.  Among  the  victims  was  Anne  Hutchinson,  one  of 
the  remarkable  women  of  the  time,  who  perished  with  her  family.  In  March  the 
Dutch  sought  peace,  which  was  effected^lhrough  the  aid  of  Roger  Williams,  then 
about  to  visit  England.  The  war  was,  however,  renewed  in  September,  and  on  the 
part  of  the  Dutch  was  conducted  by  the  veteran  Captain  John  Underbill,  a  fugitive 
from  New  England,  at  the  head  of  a  force  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  men.  After 
two  years  of  savage  warfare,  peace  was  concluded  on  the  beautiful  spot  in  front  of 
Fort  Amsterdam,  now  known  as  the  Battery,  in  the  presence  of  the  sachems  of  New 
Jersey,  of  the  River  Indians,  of  the-Mohicans,  and  those  from  Long  Island,  acknowl 
edging  the  chiefs  of  the  Five  Nations  as  arbiters,  and  having  around  them  the 
Director  and  Council  of  New  Netherlands,  with  the  entire  Dutch  population.  Ten 
years  later  (September,  1655),  in  the  absence  of  Governor  Stuyvesant,  the  neighbor 
ing  Algonkins,  never  friendly  to  the  Dutch,  made  a  desperate  attack  on  Manhattan. 
They  appeared  before  the  town  in  sixty-four  canoes,  and  ravaged  the  adjacent 
country.  The  captives  were  subsequently  ransomed,  and  the  attack  was  not  renewed. 
Confidence  was  restored,  and-  industry  soon  repaired  the  losses  of  the  colonists. 

King  Charles  II.  having  in  1664  granted  to  his  brother,  the  Duke  of  York,  the 


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EARLY  EUROPEAN  SETTLEMENTS.  83 

whole  territory  from  tbc  Connecticut  River  to  the  shores  of  the  Delaware,  the  Dutch 
colony,  left  to  itself,  and  incapable  of  defence,  was  formally  surrendered,  September 
8,  to  an  English  squadron,  and  received  the  name  of  New  York. 

Whilst  a  foreign  power  held  sway  over  the  entire  territory  bordering  New  Eng 
land  on  the  west  and  south,  facilities  were  offered  for  the  escape  of  Indian  marauders 
into  that  province,  and  the  impression  prevailed,  whether  well  or  ill  founded,  that 
such  fugitives  received  countenance  from  the  Dutch  authorities,  or  at  least  that  the 
Indians  under  their  jurisdiction  sheltered  the  runaways.  But  this  state  of  affaire 
ceased  after  the  province  was  taken  by  the  English.  The  British  flag  then  waved 
from  the  utmost  boundaries  of  New  England  to  the  borders  of  Florida.  It  is  an 
unquestionable  fact  that  when  the  Pequot  war  terminated,  in  1644,  many  of  this 
indomitable  tribe,  after  escaping  from  the  massacre  at  Fairfield,  sought  shelter  in  the 
territory  of  the  Mohawks.  Some  individuals  of  it,  also,  as  well  as  of  the  Nanlicokes, 
appear  to  have  been  incorporated  with  the  Schoharie  band  of  the  Mohawks,  but 
by  far  the  greater  number  located  themselves  on  a  branch  of  the  North  River, 
called  Schaghticoke,  in  a  valley  as  fertile  as  it  was  beautiful,  which  was  granted 
to  them  by  the  authorities  of  Albany.  These  fugitives,  among  whom  were  some 
other  fragments  of  the  sea-coast  Algonkins,  never  resumed  their  original  tribal 
api>ellation,  but  settled  down  under  the  government  of  the  Iroquois  cantons,  who 
sheltered  the  remnants  of  the  despoiled  and  conquered  tribes.  Delegates  from  these 
Indians  attended  some  of  the  Mohawk  councils,  but  they  retained  none  of  their 
former  independent  character,  and  were  not  much  respected.  Some  years  after  the 
establishment  of  the  English  supremacy  in  New  York,  the  entire  Schaghticoke  band 
precipitately  fled,  and  located  themselves  under  the  protection  of  the  French  at 
Missisciuoi  Bay,  on  the  northern  waters  of  Lake  Champlain.  To  this  course  they 
were  impelled  by  several  reasons:  because  small  countenance  was  shown  them  by  the 
New  York  authorities,  on  account  of  the  repeated  complaints  of  the  Connecticut 
colonists ;  the  whites  infringed  too  much  on  the  land  assigned  them ;  the  Canadian 
authorities,  who  were  in  communication  and  sympathy  with  them,  exercised  a  per 
suasive  influence ;  and  it  is  probable  that  the  Indians  feared  the  New  Yorkers  were 
about  to  avenge  the  wrongs  inflicted  on  the  Connecticut  settlers. 

At  the  period  when  the  English  and  Celtic  elements  of  population  were  introduced 
into  New  York,  there  were.,  aa  there  had  been  previously,  two  Indian  powers  con 
tending  for  the  sovereignty  in  this  colony, — the  Algonkin  and  the  Iroquois.  The 
Algonkins,  divided  into  numerous  bands  under  local  names,  had  frora  an  early  date 
occupied  the  valley  of  the  Hudson  below  the  site  of  Albany,  and  the  right  bank  of 
that  river  as  high  up  at  least  as  the  influx  of  the  Wallkill  was  occupied  by  the 
second  totemic  class  of  the  Lenni  Lenapes,1  who  bore  the  name  of  Munsees,  the 
various  tribes  of  which,  known  as  the  Raritans,  Sanhikans,  etc.,  covered  the  entire 
surface  of  New  Jersey.  On  the  right  banks  of  the  Hudson  were  the  Mohicans 
proper,  known  under  the  tribal  appellations  of  Wappengers,  Tappensees,  and  Wequa- 

1  Manly  men,  from  letmo,  a  man,  and  MO/*,  a  male. 


84  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

esgecks,  and  other  bonds  of  the  Westchester  Algonkins.  These  latter  extended  their 
possessions  into  the  boundaries  of  Connecticut  The  Manhattans  were  the  band 
residing  on  the  island  of  the  same  name,  and  the  Long  Island  tribes,  descriptively 
called  Sewanakies,1  or  shell-land  bands,  were  known  by  the  generic  name  of  MetSacs. 
Nearly  every  prominent  bay,  island,  or  channel  near  the  great  bay  of  New  York 
possessed  its  local  name,  derived  often  from  that  of  a  tribe. 

In  the  middle  and  western  parts  of  the  State,  between  the  Tawasentha  Valley  of 
Albany  County  and  the  Niagara  River,  resided  the  Iroquois,  consisting  of  the  five 
tribes  of  the  Mohawks,  Oneidas,  Onondagas,  Cayugas,  and  Senecas,  who,  after  the 
formation  of  their  confederacy,  filled  by  far  the  most  important  position  in  the  history 
of  the  North  American  Indians.  According  to  some  authorities,  this  league  had  been 
formed  but  a  short  time  anterior  to  the  discovery  of  the  Hudson  River.  Others, 
among  whom  is  the  Indian  annalist,  Cusic,  whose  chronology  is  not,  however,  reliable, 
aver  that  the  date  of  the  confederacy  is  far  more  ancient  From  all  accounts,  during 
the  first  half-century  after  the  settlement  of  Virginia  the  Algonkins  were  the  most 
numerous  in  population  along  the  sea-coasts,  and  for  more  than  a  century  and  a  half 
in  the  interior.  Tbis  numerical  supremacy  continued  until  the  European  population, 
crossing  the  Alleghanies,  passed  the  great  lake  basins  and  scattered  freely  over  the 
Mississippi  Valley.  Golden  says  that  the  supremacy  of  the  Algonkins  had  in  more 
ancient  times  been  acknowledged  by  the  Iroquois.  This  early  development  of 
Algonkin  power  had,  however,  declined  before  the  foot  of  the  white  man  trod  these 
shores,  and  it  is  certain  that  so  far  as  related  to  policy  and  warlike  achievements  it 
had  passed  away  before  the  era  of  the  Dutch,  and  long  before  the  English  became 
identified  with  New  York  history.  The  Algonkins  of  both  the  Hudson  and  Dela 
ware  Valleys  had  been  conquered  by  the  Iroquois,  and  were  then  in  a  state  of  vas 
salage  to  that  confederacy,  either  paying  tribute  or  being  deprived  of  the  sovereign 
right  of  ceding  lands.  When  the  latter  power  was  attempted  to  be  exercised  by  the 
Lenni  Lenape,  some  forty  years  after  the  advent  of  Penn,  the  contemptuous  rebuke 
of  Canassatego,  which  we  have  elsewhere  cited,  showed  that  the  power  of  the  club  and 
tomahawk  was  ready  to  enforce  the  claim  of  the  Iroquois  to  the  hegemony. 

About  ten  years  previous  to  the  conquest  of  New  York  by  the  English,  say  in 
1653,  the  Seneca  Iroquois,  with  the  aid  of  the  other  tribes  of  the  league,  began  a  war 
against  the  Eries,  as  well  as  against  the  neuter  nation  of  the  Niagara  River  and  their 
allies,  the  Andastes  of  the  Erie  shore.  When  Le  Moyne  first  visited  Onondaga, 
in  1655,  this  war  against  the  Eries  was  in  progress.  Cusic  denominates  them  the 
Cat  Nation, — meaning  the  wild-cat,  for  the  domestic  animal  was  to  them  unknown. 
They  were  evidently  affiliated  in  language  with  the  Iroquois.  No  one  can  peruse 
the  writings  of  the  missionary  fathers  and  not  perceive  this.  "  A  full  account  of  the 
origin  of  this  war  against  the  Neuter  Nation  is  furnished  in  our  first  volume. 

The  early  French  writers  call  this  tribe  the  Neuter  Nation,  owing  to  their  appar 
ently  pacific  character.  This  name,  however,  is  not  derived  from  the  Indian,  and 

1  A  compound  from  tetcan,  wampum  shell,  »ud  aukir,  land. 


EARLY  EUROPEAN  SETTLEMENTS.  85 

has  only  served  to  mystify  modern  inquirers,  as  no  eucl;  nation  of  neuters  can  be 
found  in  any  position  except  in  the  area  occupied  by  the  Erics,  on  the  Niagara.  The 
name  by  which  the  Senccas  designate  the  Erica  is  Kahqua.  The  Andustes  occupied 
the  chores  of  Lake  Erie.  As  previously  denoted,  they  were  Busquehan nocks. 

The  war,  fiery,  short,  and  bloody,  resulted  in  the  overthrow  of  the  Eries  and  their 
allies,  and  led  to  their  subsequent  incorporation  into  other  tribes  or  their  expulsion 
from  the  country.  From  this  time  the  tribal  name  of  Erie  (as  in  a  prior  case  that 
of  the  Pcquots)  disappears  from  history.  Mr.  Evans,  in  his  map  and  memoir  pub 
lished  at  Philadelphia  in  1755,  avers  that  the  refugee  Eries  took  shelter  in  the  Ohio 
Valley,  whence  they  eventually  crossed  the  Onosiota,  or  Allegheny  chain,  to  rejoin 
kindred  tribes.  Mr.  Jeflerson  repeats  this  fact  in  his  Notes  on  Virginia,  in  1780. 
Evidence  that  these  fugitive  Eries  are  the  brave  and  indomitable  people  known  to  us 
as  Catawbas  has  been  elsewhere  given  in  the  present  work. 

To  conciliate  the  Iroquois,  who  were  thus  rapidly  raising  themselves  to  a  position 
of  power  and  influence  among  the  Indians  of  the  colonies,  became  immediately  a 
measure  of  English  j>olicy,  and  to  secure  this  result  the  most  wise  and  prudent  steps 
were  taken.  The  fur-trade,  which  had  been  established  upon  a  satisfactory  basis 
by  the  Dutch,  was  continued,  and  the  bonds  of  friendship  with  the  Iroquois  were 
cemented  by  an  offensive  and  defensive  alliance.  Their  enemies  became  the  enemies 
of  the  English,  and  the  friends  of  the  former  the  friends  of  the  latter.  Thus  the 
Iroquois  were  constituted  the  defenders  of  the  territory  of  Western  New  York  against 
the  French.  If  the  latter  could  succeed  in  driving  them  from  their  forests,  Western 
New  York  would  be  added  to  New  France ;  if  they  failed,  it  was  a  gem  in  the  British 
crown.  Who  can  read  the  details  of  a  hundred  years'  sanguinary  contests  without 
perceiving  that  it  was  the  undying  vigilance,  the  unerring  accuracy  of  their  geo 
graphical  knowledge  of  the  wilderness,  and  the  manly  bravery  of  the  Iroquois  which, 
up  to  the  year  1775,  preserved  Western  New  York  to  the  English  crown  ? 


CHAPTER   lit 

CHAMPLAIN   FOUNDS  QUEBEC  AND  THE  CANADIAN  SETTLEMENTS. 

NEARLY  seventy  years  had  elapsed  before  France,  desolated  by  civil  war  and 
torn  by  religious  dissensions,  could  renew  her  purpose  of  founding  a  French  empire 
in  America.  In  the  mean  time,  however,  her  fisheries  had  largely  increased,  one 
hundred  and  fifty  French  vessels  being  at  Newfoundland  in  1573,  at  which  time 
voyages  for  traffic  with  the  natives  were  regularly  and  successfully  made.  In  1603 
the  merchants  of  Bouen  formed  a  company,  which  was  placed  under  Samuel  de 
Champlain,  an  able  marine  officer  and  man  of  science,  the  father  of  the  French 
settlements  in  Canada.  Active  and  fearless,  and  at  the  same  time  cool  and  perse 
vering,  Champlain's  account  of  his  first  expedition  proves  his  sound  judgment  and 
accurate  observation,  and  abounds  in  exact  details  of  the  manners  of  the  savage 
tribes.  Selecting  Quebec  as  the  site  for  a  fort,  he  returned  to  France  just  before 
the  issue  to  De  Monts  of  the  patent  of  Amelia,  a  region  which,  as  then  defined, 
extended  from  Philadelphia  to  beyond  Montreal.  The  expedition,  which  left  France 
March  7,  1604,  after  attempting  a  settlement  on  the  island  of  St.  Croix,  at  the 
mouth  of  the  river  of  that  name,  planted,  in  the  spring  of  1605,  a  colony  at  Port 
Royal,  called  Annapolis,  after  the  conquest  of  Acadia  (Nova  Scotia)  by  Queen  Anne. 
Thus  the  first  French  settlement  on  the  continent  preceded  by  two  years  the  coloni 
zation  of  Virginia.  With  a  view  to  future  settlements,  De  Monta  then  explored 
and  claimed  for  France  the  rivers,  coasts,  and  bays  of  New  England  as  far  as  Cape 
Cod ;  Jesuit  priests  began  the  conversion  of  the  natives,  who  were  already  hostile 
towards  the  English,  who  had  visited  their  coasts ;  and  a  French  colony  was,  in 
1613,  planted  on  Mount  Desert,  within  the  present  limits  of  the  United  States. 
In  1608  the  city  of  Quebec  was  begun  by  Champlain,  who  in  the  next  year  joined 
a  party  of  Hurons  and  Algonkins  hi  an  expedition  against  the  Iroquois,  and  explored 
the  lake  which  perpetuates  his  name.  The  monopoly  of  De  Monts  having  been 
revoked,  and  a  new  colonial  patent  having,  in  1615,  been  obtained  by  merchants  of 
St.  Malo,  Rouen,  and  Rochelle,  Champlain  embarked  once  more  for  the  New  World. 
In  a  subsequent  invasion  of  tfie  Iroquois  territory,  he  was  wounded  and  repuked, 
spending  the  first  winter  after  his  return  ia  the  country  of  the  Hurons.  In  1524  he 
built  the  castle  of  St.  Louis,  so  long  the  place  of  council  against  the  Iroquois  and 
against  New  England,  and,  in  spite  of  obstacles,  in  a  few  years  established  the 
authority  of  the  French  on  the  banks  of  the  St  Lawrence.  He  died  here  in  1635. 

86 


• 

. 


CHAPTER   IV. 

8KTTLKMKNT  OF  TI1K  NKW  KNOLAND  COLONIES— MAHHAHOIT—  KFHORT8  TO  CHRIS- 
TIANI/K  THE  INDIANS— TIIKIR  MANNKIW   AND  CUSTOMS— Til K   PKQUOT8. 

THE  idea  of  migrating  to  America  to  escape  the  intolerance  of  the  house  of 
Stuart  had  l>ccn  for  a  long  time  entertained  by  the  English  exiles  in  the  Jjow 
Countries.  Intelligence  of  the  discoveries  in  Virginia  and  in  the  region  of  New 
York  probably  had  the  effect  of  reviving  the  agitation  of  the  project,  as  well  an  of 
demonstrating  it«  practicability,  and  in  effect  the  cxilen  were  in  a  short  time  thereafter 
on  their  way  to  the  New  World.  The  first  colony  which  landed  in  Massachusetts 
Bay,  I)eceml)cr  21,  K>20,  was  surrounded  by  small  tribes  and  bandit  of  the  Algon- 
kiiiH,  the  principal  of  which  were  the  Pcquots,  Narragansetts,  Pokanokcte,  Massa 
chusetts,  and  Paw  tuck  eta,  each  of  which  wan  Hiibdivided  into  numerous  elaiiH.  There 
were  also  the  Mohicans  and  NiprnnckH.  During  the  yearn  immediately  preceding 
European  settlement  fatal  epidemics  had  greatly  thinned  thceoast-trilKW,  and  in  Home 
instances  nearly  annihilated  them.  Whole  villages  appeared  to  have  been  de{»opu- 
lated,  and  deserted  fields  everywhere  met  the  view.  This  decadence  of  the  race  wan 
a  favorable  circumstance  for  the  colonists,  whose  utmost  effort*  were  required  to 
combat  the  difficulties  of  their  position. 

The  principal  personage  among  the  aboriginal  chieftains  wan  Massasoit,  the  ruler 
of  the  Pokanokets,  or  Wampanoags,  living  at  Mount  IIoj>c,  on  the  waters  of  Narra- 
gansett  Bay.  lie  had  l>een  a  noted  warrior,  but  was  at  that  time  a  man  far  advanced 
in  life.  He  was  of  good  stature,  full  and  fleshy  ;  arid,  jfOHWswing  a  manly  rnieri,  mild 
manners,  a  moderate  temper,  ami  a  noble  spirit,  amicable  relations  with  him  were 
soon  established.  The  jurisdiction  of  the  Massachusetts  coast  appears  to  have 
la-longed  to  him  in  quality  of  his  office  of  bashaba,  or  presiding  chief-holder,  iis  in 
more  certainly  evinced  by  the  authority  assumed  after  his  death  by  his  sons,  Alex 
ander  and  Pomctacom.1  The  first  interview  with  this  potentate  wiw  conducted  with 
equal  ceremony  by  the  colonists  and  by  the  nerni-impcrial  chief.  He  was  received 
by  Governor  Carver  and  his  retinue  with  every  attention.  There  was  military  music 
and  a  salute  of  musketry ;  mutual  embraces  followed.  They  then  sat  down  side  by 
side;  "a  pot  of  strong  water"  was  brought  forward,  from  which  both  drank.  The 
chief,  not  knowing  how  to  graduate  his  draught,  from  ignorance  of  its  strength,  wag 
thrown  into  a  violent  perspiration,  which  lasted  during  the  interview.  A  pacific 
course  of  policy  was  established  by  a  treaty  which  was  sacredly  kept  for  more  than 
half  a  century,  and  from  this  era  the  aboriginal  words  Mariito,  wigwam,  powwow, 

1  Drake,  p.  13. 

87 


38  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

samp,  moose,  and  others  from  their  vocabulary,  began  to  be  incorporated  into  the 
English  language.  Soon  after  their  landing,  Samoset,  who  had  acquired  a  little 
English  of  the  fishermen  at  Penobscot,  came  into  Plymouth,  exclaiming,  "  Welcome 
Englishmen,"  and  in  the  name  of  his  nation  invited  them  to  take  possession  of  the 
-soil,  the  old  occupants  of  which  were  no  longer  living. 

The  country  had  been  first  explored  by  the  English  in  1583,  when  Sir  Humphrey 
Gilbert  visited  the  coast.  In  1602  Gosnold  bestowed  names  on  Cape  Cod,  Elizabeth 
Islands,  and  Martha's  Vineyard ;  and  in  1614  Captain  Smith,  of  Virginia  fame,  gave 
the  name  of  New  England  to  this  part  of  the  continent.  The  coast  had  been 
explored  by  Dutch  navigators  subsequent  to  the  discoveries  made  by  Hudson,  and  is 
designated  in  an  ancient  map  by  the  name  of  Almochico.  The  Indians,  being  defi 
cient  in  generalization,  had  no  generic  name  for  it,  unless  it  were  that  of  Abenakee 
which  they  subsequently  made  use  of.  The  first  colony  landed  on  the  banks  of  a 
river,  which  we  are  informed  the  natives  called  Accomac,  but  which  the  English 
named  Plymouth.1  One  hundred  and  one  persons  debarked  on  the  confines  of 
twenty  tribes,  whose  exact  numbers  were  unknown,  but  whose  hostility  to  the  colony 
was  undoubted.  Prince  says  these  '•  hundred  and  one"  were  the  persons  "  who,  for 
an  undefiled  conscience,  and  the  love  of  pure  Christianity,  first  left  their  native  and 
pleasant  land,  and  encountered  all  the  toils  and  hazards  of  the  tumultuous  oceuu,  in 
search  of  some  uncultivated  region  in  North  Virginia,  where  they  might  quietly 
enjoy  their  religious  liberties,  and  transmit  them  to  posterity,  in  hopes  that  none 
would  follow  to  disturb  or  vex  them." 

Canonicus,  sachem  of  the  Narragansetts,  a  chief  of  extraordinary  capacity,  and 
the  enemy  of  Massasoit,  and  whose  territory  had  escaped  the  terrible  ravages  of  the 
pestilence,  at  first  desired  to  treat  for  peace,  but  in  1622  he  sent  to  the  English  set 
tlement  a  bundle  of  arrows  wrapped  in  the  skin  of  a  rattlesnake  in  token  of  hos 
tility.  The  skin  was  promptly  returned  by  Governor  Bradford  stuffed  with  powder 
and  shot,  and  the  frightened  savage  sought  to  be  on  terms  of  amity  with  his  formidable 
neighbors. 

Winthrop's  company,  which  in  the  summer  of  1630  settled  in  and  around  Boston, 
in  Massachusetts  Bay,  at  once  established  friendly  relations  with  the  natives.  The 
sagamore  of  the  Mohicans  came  to  solicit  an  English  plantation  as  a  bulwark  against 
the  terrible  Pequots,  and  the  nearer  Nipmucks  asked  aid  against  the  Mohawks.  The 
son  of  the  aged  Canonicus  exchanged  presents  with  the  governor,  and  Miantonomo 
himself,  the  great  Narragansett  warrior,  became  the  guest  of  Governor  Winthrop. 
Even  a  Pequot  sachem,  with  wampumpeag  and  promises  of  skins,  came  to  obtain  the 
alliance  of  the  English. 

Within  a  few  years  thereafter,  Maine,  New  Hampshire,  Connecticut,  and  Rhode 
Island  were  successfully  colonized.  To  endure  patiently  and  to  hope  amidst  every 
ill  were  primary  principles  with  the  colonists,  and  as  soon  as  they  came  into  contact 

1  Smith,  Tol.  ii.  p.  177.  Accomac  is  also  the  name  of  a  location  in  Eastern  Virginia,  probably  signifying 
the  line  where  the  wilderness  meets  an  eligible  and  cultivated  country. 


EARLY  EUROPEAN  SETTLEMENTS.  89 

with  the  Indians  they  aimed,  both  by  precept  and  by  example,  to  teach  them  the 
advantages  of  thrift  over  the  precarious  pursuit  of  the  chase.  Among  a  people  char 
acteristically  idle,  listless,  and  prone  to  regard  with  favor  the  rites  of  demonology  and 
the  practice  of  magic,  nothing  coul  1  be  more  unpalatable  or  more  certainly  pro 
ductive  of  hostilities,  for  the  priests  and  sages,  powwows  and  necromancers,  clung  to 
their  ceremonies  and  orgies  with  a  desperate  tenacity.  To  live  on  the  products  of 
the  bow  and  arrow  had  been  the  practice  of  the  people  for  untold  centuries,  and  they 
regarded  the  new-comers  with  a  feeling  of  distrust  and  hatred  which  grew  stronger 
and  more  intense  with  every  succeeding  decade  of  colonial  existence. 

The  attempt  to  introduce  the  principles  of  civilization  among  the  New  England 
tribes,  who  were  half  hunters  and  half  ichthyophagi,  gives  us  a  stand-point  from 
which  we  may  contemplate  the  Indian  character  in  a  new  and  instructive  phase. 
When,  in  1580,  the  scholar  Harriot  showed  the  Virginia  Indians  the  Bible,  and 
explained  to  them  its  contents,  they  imagined  it  to  be  some  great  talisman,  and 
handled,  hugged,  and  kissed  it  with  great  reverence,  rubbing  it  against  their  heads 
and  breasts.  They  were  strongly  impressed  with  the  belief  that  it  was  the  material 
of  the  book,  and  not  its  doctrines,  which  embodied  its  virtues.  In  1608,  when  the 
shores  of  the  Chesapeake  were  explored  by  Smith,  the  English  were  accustomed  to 
have  prayers  recited  daily,  and  a  psalm  sung,  at  which  the  Susquehannocks,  who 
were  spectators,  greatly  wondered,  regarding  the  rites  and  ceremonies  with  deep 
interest, — feeling  animated  by  the  vocal  sounds,  but  profoundly  ignorant  of  the  lan 
guage  and  of  its  true  import.  Being  themselves  ceremonialists  to  an  almost  unlimited 
extent,  in  the  worship  they  offered  to  the  gods  of  the  air,  hills,  and  valleys,  and  also 
ready  interpreters  of  symbols,  the  ritual  was  to  them  an  object  of  wonder. 

Harriot  informs  us  that  the  Virginia  Indians  believed  in  the  existence  of  one 
God ;  yet  in  the  same  sentence  he  also  says  that  the  sun,  moon,  and  stars  were 
subordinate  gods,  that  the  gods  were  all  of  human  shape,  and  that  offerings  were  pre 
sented  to  their  images.  Very  similar  to  this  were  the  declarations  of  the  Northern 
Indians;  but  yet,  while  they  acknowledged  God  as  riding  on  the  clouds,  the  images 
they  worshipped  in  secret  and  in  their  assemblies  were,  in  fact,  demons  and  devils. 
To  disseminate  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel  amid  such  an  embodiment  of  dark  super 
stition  was  not  an  easy  task,  yet  it  was  zealously  and  firmly  pursued.  Cotton  Mather 
informs  us  that  within  thirty  years  from  the  time  when  the  first  formal  efforts  were 
made  to  preach  the  gospel  to  the  Indians,  there  were  six  churches  and  eighteen 
assemblies  of  catechumens,  or  converted  natives,  within  the  boundaries  of  Massa 
chusetts,  and  in  1G82  the  entire  Bible  was  made  accessible  to  them  by  means  of  the 
translation  of  Eliot. 

Within  the  space  of  a  few  years  the  English  population  spread  themselves  over 
the  entire  country,  enterprise  having  been  a  marked  characteristic  of  all  the  early 
settlements.  The  Indians,  divided  into  innumerable  small  tribes  and  bands,  occupied 
the  interior  territory  and  a  great  part  of  the  immediate  coast-line.  Wherever  the 
colonists  located  themselves  the  natives  watched  their  movements  with  jealous  interest. 
The  colonists  being  uniformly  industrious,  thrifty,  cautious,  courageous,  and  tem- 

H— 12 


90  THS  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

perate,  the  more  reflecting  sagamores  could  hardly  fail  to  be  impressed  with  the  idea 
that  the  settlers  were  the  mere  heralds  of  a  people  destined  to  increase  rapidly  both 
in  number  and  in  power,  and  to  occupy  the  whole  country,  to  the  detriment  of  the 
red  man,  whose  dominion  must  decline  as  the  influence  of  the  white  man  increased. 

It  would  be  erroneous  to  suppose  that  such  a  deep  sense  of  danger  could  have 
been  produced  without  exciting  the  strong  antipathy  of  the  Indian.  On  the  con 
trary,  a  virulent,  secret,  deep-seated,  and  almost  universal  opposition  was  developed 
among  the  native  powwows  from  the  waters  of  the  Connecticut  to  those  of  the 
Penobscot.  Bitter,  indeed,  was  this  sense  of  the  inevitable  decay  of  their  own  race 
to  the  Indians,  and  equally  bitter  to  them  in  every  phase  was  their  experience  of  civ 
ilization.  They  detested  a  life  of  labor,  and  had  no  relish  for  the  Puritan  standard 
of  stern  virtue  and  personal  responsibility.  The  idea  that  such  members  of  the 
wandering  tribes  as  were  guilty  of  theft,  murder,  prevarication,  and  covetousncss 
would  be  brought  to  judgment  therefor  was  utterly  repugnant  to  them ;  but  when ' 
to  this  doctrine  was  joined  the  requirement  that  they  should  relinquish  their  system 
of  worship,  their  necromancy,  their  magic  ceremonies,  and  all  their  forest  rites,  their 
deepest  ire  was  aroused. 

In  missionary  labor  among  the  red  men,  Eliot,  commonly  called  the  Apostle  to 
the  Indians,  greatly  distinguished  himself.  He  emigrated  from  England  in  1031, 
and  was  chosen  minister  at  Koxbury,  where  in  the  exercise  of  his  pastoral  duties  his 
attention  was  directed  to  the  Indian  tribes,  of  whom  numerous  clans  and  villages 
then  overspread  the  territory  and  were  interspersed  among  the  settlements  of  the 
whites.  Being  a  graduate  of  the  university  of  Cambridge,  England,  and  a  person 
of  considerable  learning,  Eliot  began  the  study  of  the  Indian  languages,  under  the 
no  small  stimulus,  it  is  inferred,  of  finding  therein  some  elements  of  the  Hebrew.  In 
this  important  inquiry  into  the  affinities  of  nations,  a  research  far  in  advance  of  the 
age  in  which  he  lived,  Eliot's  principal  aid  and  pundit  was  Ncsutan,  a  descendant  of 
the  Massachusetts  stock,  who  had  learned  to  speak  the  English  language,  and  who 
was  pronounced  by  a  divine  of  that  period  "  a  pregnant-wilted  young  man." 

In  1646  the  subject  of  the  conversion  of  the  Indians  was  discussed  by  the  Asso 
ciation  of  Colonial  Ministers,  who  adopted  a  resolution  strongly  urging  the  expediency 
and  necessity  of  immediate  action.  In  accordance  with  this  view,  Mr.  Eliot  appointed 
a  time  and  place  for  an  assemblage  of  the  Indians,  which  was  convened  on  the  28th 
of  October  of  the  same  year.  His  text  was,  "  Prophesy  unto  the  wind,  prophesy  f 
son  of  man,  and  say  to  the  wind,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God ;  Come  from  the  four 
winds,  O  breath,  and  breathe  upon  these  slain,  that  they  may  live."  *  The  place  was 
called  N< man t inn  (God's  word  displayed),  and  a  strong  impression  was  made  upon 
the  Indian  mind  by  this  appeal. 

Another  convocation  of  the  Indians  took  place  a  fortnight  subsequently,  at  the 
same  place,  where  Eliot  addressed  them  in  their  own  language.  Other  meetings 
followed  thereafter.  The  Indians  who  attended  agreed  to  settle  at  that  place,  as  also 

1  Exekicl  xuvii.  9. 


EARLY  KUKOl'KAff  SKTTLKMKNm  91 

to  adopt  the  rules  niul  observe  the  practices  of  civilization,  niul  faithfully  to  adhere 
to  the  precepts  of  Christianity.  Thus  was  established  the  first  settlement  of  praying 
Indians.  They  received  instruction  gladly,  tailored  diligently  at  husbandry,  nnd 
became  very  expert  in  the  use  of  farming-tools.  IJeing  regularly  catechised  and 
instructed,  a  congregation  of  converts  was  in  the  end  established.  The  Indians  being 
carefully  watched  over,  with  the  nid  of  native  helps  the  new  principle:;  spread  rapidly 
among  them.  A  second  meeting  was  held  at  Ne|w)nsct,  in  Mr.  Eliot's  parish,  and 
others  at  Pawtucket,  at  Concord,  and  on  the  peninsula  of  Ca|>e  Cod,  which  were  nil 
equally  successful.  These  proceedings  elicited  strong  opposition  among  the  native 
priests  and  powwows,  who,  seeing  their  ancient  power  over  the  Indians  about  to 
depart,  l>cat  their  necromantic  drums  at  their  secret  meetings  with  greater  energy. 

Accounts  of  the  successful  propagation  of  the  gosjicl  in  America  were  published 
and  circulated  throughout  England,  where  they  excited  HO  much  interest  during  tho 
two  following  years  (10-17  and  10-18)  that  when  an  appeal  was  made  to  Parliament 
to  second  their  efforts  that  body  passed  an  act  to  ineor|>orate  a  Society  for  the  Propa 
gation  of  the  GOSJH,'!  in  New  England.  In  1001,  Eliot  published  a  translation  of 
the  Old  Testament  in  the  Indian  dialect  of  Massachusetts,  which  was  called  by  him 
the  Natick,  manifestly  l*ec!iuse  he  deemed  that  to  lx-  the  generic  language.  Thin 
volume  was  a  work  of  great  lalior,  ami  had  received  the  most  careful  attention. 
After  a  long  interval  it  w;is  followed  by  a  translation  of  the  Gospels,  and  in  10H4 
the  two  parts  were  reproduced  together,  in  one  volume,  at  Cambridge,  Massachusetts. 
This  was  in  every  way  a  gigantic  work,  and  could  not  have  been  accomplished  with 
out  the  aid  of  the  London  Society  for  Propagating  the  (JosjK'l,  under  whose  auspicea 
it  was  executed.  Eliot  and  Ncsulan  had  spent,  many  long  years  upon  it;  nnd,  ns  it 
progressed,  the  several  parta  of  each  l>ook  were  practically  employed  in  the  dis 
semination  of  the  truths  they  contained.  It  still  retains  its  position  »is  the  mint, 
considerable  and  important  monument  of  our  Indian  philology. 

The  New  England  settlers  made  no  attempts  to  impose,  a  ritual  on  the  alx»rigines. 
It  was  noticed  that  these  tribes  were  under  the  religious  rule  of  self-constituted 
prints,  powwows,  and  ecclesiastical  sagamores,  who  directed  them  in  the  appalling 
worship  of  evil  spirits,  and  of  elementary  gods,  whose  names  were  emphatically 
"  legion."  In  the  words  of  a  quaint  historian  of  that  period,  "  the  whole  body  of  the 
multiplied  tril>cs  and  septs  who  cover  the  land  are  the  veriest  ruins  of  mankind."1 
This  writer  observes,  "  Their  wigwams  consist  of  poles,  lined  with  mats,  where  a  good 
fire  supplies  the  warmth  of  bed-clothes  in  .cold  seasons.  The  skins  of  animals  furnish 
exclusively  their  clothing.  Sharp  stones  are  used  for  knives  and  tools.  Wampum, 
a  kind  of  bead  made  from  sea-shells,  is  a  substitute  for  money.  Indian  corn  con 
stitutes  their  staple  of  vegetable  food;  the  forest  supplies  them  precariously  with 
meat.  Fish  are  taken  in  their  streams.  The  hot-house  is  their  calholicon  for  a  large 
class  of  their  diseases.  Their  religion  is  a  confused  and  contradictory  theism,  under 
the  rule  of  a  class  of  priests  called  powwows,  who  offer  incense  by  the  fumes  of 

1  Cotton  Mather. 


92  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

tobacco."  There  was  absolutely  nothing  in  their  plan  of  dwelling  that  deserved  the 
name  of  architecture,  but  they  had  considerable  skill  in  manufacturing  arrows,  bows, 
war-clubs,  bowls,  pipes,  fishing-rods,  and  nets.  The  women  made  clay  pots,  which, 
when  used  for  the  purpose  of  cooking,  were  suspended  from  a  tripod  formed  of  three 
poles  tied  together  at  top  and  spread  over  the  fire.  They  wove  mats  of  flags,  baskets 
of  the  split  cortical  layers  of  wood,  and  nets  from  a  native  fibre.  The  clam-shell 
was  frequently  used  as  a  spoon,  but  spoons  were  also  carved  out  of  wood,  as  also  were 
onagons,  or  bowls.  Darts  were  chipped  from  horn-stone,  as  well  as  from  other  species 
of  silicious  rock,  and  frontlets  ornamented  with  birds'  feathers  were  employed  for 
head-dresses.  The  cawheek  and  succotash,  or  pouuded  corn,  were  their  favorite 
dishes:  when  the  hunter  was  successful  he  had  deer  or  other  meat  Fish  was 
abundant,  even  in  the  interior  streams,  as  were  also  oysters  and  other  shell-fish  on 
the  sea-coasts.  Canoes  were  made  from  solid  trees,  hollowed  by  the  aid  of  fire,  and 
a  peculiar  axe,  which  is  frequently  found  among  Indian  relics.  The  red  man  was 
ingenious  in  setting  snares  for  birds  and  beasts,  and  sometimes  large  animals  were 
entrapped  by  bending  down  saplings,  which  would  rebound  when  any  beast  trod  on 
the  string  which  held  them  in  place.  The  Indian  buried  his  dead  in  outer  wrap 
pings  of  bark,  placing  at  the  head  of  the  corpse  a  wooden  post,  on  which  were  carved 
the  totem  of  the  clan  and  some  other  hieroglyphics.  His  success  in  war  and  in  hunt 
ing  was  also  sometimes  rudely  sculptured  on  the  face  of  rocks  or  boulders,  some  of 
these  muzzinabih  remaining  to  this  day. 

With  manners  and  customs  thus  entirely  opposed  to  everything  like  civilization, 
it  needed  but  slight  incitement  to  arouse  the  deadliest  feelings  of  hostility.  Very 
little  difference  existed,  either  in  dress  or  in  manners,  between  individual  Indians,  or 
between  the  various  tribes,  all  looking  and  acting  very  much  alike,  and  the  innocent 
were  frequently  mistaken  for  the  guilty. 

The  spirit  of  opposition  to  the  entire  constitution  and  system  of  civil  society  and 
of  Christianity  originated  early,  and  led  to  repeated  combinations  of  the  Indians  to 
exterminate  the  white  race.  The  first  general  and  alarming  effort  of  this  kind 
against  the  peace  and  welfare  of  the  New  England  colonists  developed  itself  in  the 
area  of  Connecticut,  among  the  Pequots.  The  primary  settlements  in  the  Connecticut 
Valley  were  made  in  1C33.  Within  four  years  from  that  time  the  Pequots  evinced 
their  hostility,  for  which  there  was  an  additional  and  highly  irritating  cause. 

Prior  to  the  settlement  of  New  England,  feuds  had  existed  in  the  Pequot  tribe. 
This  was  a  numerous  organization,  extending  from  the  western  boundary  of  the 
Narragansetts,  on  the  Pawcatuck  River,  to  the  banks  of  the  Pequot  or  Thames 
River.  It  is  evident  that  their  extreme  western  boundary  originally  extended  to  the 
Connecticut.  They  were  under  the  rule  of  the  powerful,  brave,  and  ambitious 
Sassacus,  there  being  no  evidence  that  Uncas  occupied  the  valley  by  right  of  conquest 
But  at  the  era  of  the  founding  of  the  Connecticut  colony  this  valley  was  occupied 
by  the  Mohicans,  who  were  ruled  by  the  sachem  Uncas.  The  Pequots  and  the 
Mohicans  spoke  the  same  language,  which  was  a  secondary  form  of  the  generic 
Algoukin.  Uncas  had  married  a  daughter  of  Tatobam,  a  Pequot,  of  the  blood  of 


EARLY  EUROPEAN  SETTLEMENTS.  93 

the  chief,  and  was,  according  to  the  general  principles  of  descent,  regarded  as  one  of 
the  hereditary  line.  Uncas  was  himself  a  wise,  brave,  and  politic  chieftain.  What 
ever  the  causes  of  tribal  discord  were,  his  separation  from  the  parent  tribe,  and 
removal  westwardly,  had  occurred  prior  to  the  settlement  of  either  Windsor  or 
Hartford,  the  oldest  Connecticut  towns,  for  the  enmity  between  these  two  rival  native 
chiefs  became  at  once  apparent  to  the  English.  Uncas,  with  the  view  of  strength 
ening  his  position  against  Sassacus  and  the  larger  body  of  the  tribe,  hailed  the  arrival 
of  the  colonists  with  joy,  became  their  protector  against  the  inroads  of  the  Pequots, 
and  remained  their  firm  and  consistent  friend.  This  line  of  policy  served  rather  to 
irritate  than  to  allay  the  Pequot  enmity  to  the  English.  At  length,  after  the  lapse 
of  a  few  years  marked  by  bitter  hostilities,  murders,  and  cruelties,  from  which  out 
rages  the  English  and  their  Mohican  allies  were  alike  sufferers,  a  formidable  expedi 
tion  was  organized  against  Sassacus  and  his  two  forts.  The  murder  of  John  Oldham 
while  on  a  trading  expedition  near  Block  Island,  in  July,  1636,  was  its  immediate 
occasion.  It  is  not  necessary  here  to  speak  of  the  cruel  murders,  of  the  breaches  of 
treaty  stipulations,  or  of  the  depredations  and  other  outrages  committed  :  suffice  it  to 
say  that,  excitement  being  at  its  height,  forbearance  had  ceased  to  be  a  virtue,  and 
all  were  compelled  either  to  fight  or  die.  Four  years  of  agonizing  strife  thus  passed 
away,  during  which  at  least  thirty  English  had  been  put  to  death,  some  with  the 
addition  of  cruel  tortures.  The  existence  of  the  colonies  was  at  stake ;  it  was  a 
contest  between  civilization  and  barbarism.  If  Connecticut  succumbed,  Massachusetts 
and  Rhode  Island  must  necessarily  follow.  Sassacus  at  that  period  being  on  the  best 
terms  with  the  Narragansetts,  who  then  acknowledged  the  dominion  of  the  aged 
Canonicus,  and  of  his  more  efficient  son,  Miontonomo,  he  aimed  in  vain  by  negotia 
tions  to  obtain  their  aid  against  the  Mohicans  and  the  English.  A  general  rising 
•was  only  prevented  by  the  influence  of  Roger  Williams,  who  at  the  imminent  hazard 
of  his  life  succeeded  in  dissolving  this  formidable  coalition.  As  a  ruler  Sassacus  was 
greatly  feared  and  respected  by  his  people,  as  well  as  by  the  Xarragansetts.  He  waa 
a  brave  warrior  and  an  eloquent  speaker.  Mason  tells  us  of  an  Indian  saying  thut 
"Sassacus  is  all  one  god;  no  man  can  kill  him."  The  views  he  expressed  with 
respect  to  the  English  settlements  in  New  England  prove  the  expansion  and  forecast 
of  his  mind.  He  regarded  the  white  men  as  destined  to  supersede  the  Indian  race, 
and  said  that  when  they  had  exterminated  the  Pequots  they  would  then  turn  their 
attention  to  the  Narragansetts.  He  urged  an  alliance  for  general  purposes,  and 
argued  that,  it  would  not  be  necessary  to  fight  great  battles,  as  the  whites  could  be 
destroyed  one  by  one.  The  Indians  could  lie  in  ambush  for  the  colonists,  could  burn 
their  dwellings,  could  kill  their  cattle.  Every  view  we  take  of  the  character  of 
<  Sassacus  only  serves  to  confirm  the  impression  that  he  was  a  man  of  uncommon 
energy  as  well  as  forecast,  and  he  occupies  n  prominent  position  among  the  bold 
aboriginal  chiefs  who  so  resolutely  resisted  the  occupancy  of  their  country  by 
Europeans.  He  clearly  foresaw  and  pointed  out  to  his  countrymen  that  with  arts 
and  energies  such  as  their  invaders  had  already  demonstrated  the  possession  of,  they 
must  extinguish  the  light  of  their  council-  and  altar-fires ;  one  after  another  the 


94  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

tribes  most  succumb.  The  history  of  the  great  internal  conflicts  of  ante-historical 
periods  by  which  the  Pequot  nation  had  been  divided  and  Uncas  expelled  being 
involved  in  obscurity,  we  are  unable  to  furnish  any  accurate  details.  We  know, 
however,  that  the  feud  was  existing  in  all  its  original  intensity  when  the  colonists 
first  entered  the  country,  and,  unfortunately  for  the  perpetuation  of  his  power, 
Sassacus,  like  many  others  of  the  aboriginal  chiefs  and  leaders,  lacked  the  spirit  of 
conciliation,  aiming  to  achieve  by  force  what  he  might  have  attained  by  delay  and 
negotiation,  placing  too  low  an  estimate  on  the  value  of  union  and  co-operation 
with  the  surrounding  tribes.  He  was  feared  and  suspected  by  the  numerous  tribe 
of  the  Narragansetts  on  the  east,  while  the  unfriendly  Mohicans  lined  the  boundary 
of  his  dominion  on  the  west  The  small  bands  of  the  Niantics  and  Ninigret's  men 
he  evidently  controlled,  and  the  interior  country  to  the  north  was  open  to  him. 
Two  of  his  strongest  positions  were  stockaded  villages  which  assumed  the  character 
of  forts,  and  had  the  English  been  less  prompt  or  bold  in  their  movements,  and 
given  him  more  time  to  consummate  his  arrangements,  the  result  might  have  been 
protracted,  although  it  certainly  could  not  have  been  averted. 


CHAPTER    V. 

MARYLAND    SKTTLKD— ABORIGINAL    POPULATION    ON    TUB    8IIOKKS  OF  TIIK 
CHESAPEAKE— THK  SUSCJUEHANNOCKS— THE  ANDASTES. 

DURING  the  your  immediately  following  the  establishment  of  the  BCttlcmcntfl  in 
the  Connecticut  Valley,  the  tril>es  of  Maryland  proper,  as  distinguished  from  those 
of  Virginia,  were  particularly  introduced  to  historical  notice.  On  the  27th  of 
March,  1634,  Leonard  Calvert  landed  on  the  banks  of  a  river,  to  which  he  gave 
the  name  of  St.  Mary,  situated  on  the  western  shores  of  Chesapeake  Hay.  Captain 
John  Smith,  who  visited  and  circumnavigated  the  bay  in  1608,  furnishes  the  first 
account  of  the  Susquchannocks, — a  bold,  stalwart,  and  athletic  tril>e,  who  spoke  in  a 
hollow  tone,  with  a  full  enunciation.  The  Indians  living  near  the  St.  Mary's  River, 
and  in  whose  vicinity  Calvert  landed,  were  called  Wicomoeos.  Friendly  relations 
were  cultivated  with  the  natives,  who  sold  him  a  tract  of  land  thirty  miles  in  extent, 
for  which  they  received  axes  and  other  useful  articles. 

In  their  manners,  customs,  and  general  character  these  Indians  closely  resembled 
the  Virginia  triln-s.  They  built  their  lodges  in  the  same  manner,  as  well  as  of  the 
same  materials,  in  all  respects  practised  the  same  arts,  and  observed  the  same  religious 
ceremonies.  Like  them,  they  acknowledged  a  great  God,  but  also  offered  sacrifices 
to  local  Okccit.  They  smoked  tobacco,  holding  it  in  the  highest  estimation,  culti 
vated  maize,  hunted  the  deer,  and  snared  water-fowl.  Ethnologic-ally  they  were 
descendants  of  the  same  race  with  the  Powhatanic  triltes,  and  sj»oke  dialect*  of  the 
great  Algonkin  language.  Indeed,  Powhatan  claimed  jurisdiction  over  the  Patuxent, 
though  it  is  doubtful  whether  his  claims  were  much  respected. 

This  colony  was  founded  under  a  charter  granted  by  Charles  I.,  through  the 
influence  of  his  consort,  Mary,  and  appears  to  have  licen  intended  as  a  refuge  for 
persons  professing  the  same  religion  with  the  queen,  who  was  a  Roman  Catholic. 
Under  the  protectorate  of  Cromwell,  who  soon  after  gained  the  ascendency  in  Eng 
land,  Maryland  Ixjcame  the  resort  of  men  holding  various  creeds,  and  the  country 
obtained  a  wide-spread  fame  as  the  land  of  tolerance.  I'ut,  however  the  white  men 
differed  in  their  religious  faith,  they  agreed  generally  in  their  mode  of  treatment  of 
the  Indians.  Barbarism  and  Christianity  could  not  exist  in  close  proximity. 

A  good  understanding,  however,  was  maintained  with  this  people,  in  the  hope 
that  their  eyes  might  be  so  far  morally  and  intellectually  opened  that  they  might  be 
brought  under  the  influence  of  the  gospel.  The  account*  of  the  Maryland  Indians 
state  that  "  they  were  a  simple  race,  open,  affectionate,  and  confiding,  filled  with 
•wonder  and  admiration  of  their  new  visitants,  and  disposed  to  live  with  them  as 
neighbors  and  friends  on  terms  of  intimacy  and  cordiality.  To  the  Europeans  they 


96  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

seem  to  have  been  quite  as  much  objects  of  curiosity  as  the  Europeans  were  to  them. 
To  Englishmen  coming  from  the  midst  of  a  civilization  which  had  been  steadily 
progressive  for  a  thousand  years,  the  persons,  manners,  habits,  and  sentiments  of  the 
savages  of  North  America  must  have  been  objects  of  lasting  astonishment" 

The  following  testimony  respecting  the  Chesapeake  Bay  Indians  is  from  the  pen 
of  Father  White,  who  accompanied  Calvert:  "This  race  is  endowed  with  an  inge 
nious  and  liberal  disposition,  and,  what  may  surprise  you  when  stated,  an  acuteness 
of  taste,  smell,  and  sight  that  even  surpasses  Europeans'.  They  live  mostly  on  a 
pap,  which  they  call  pone,  or  omini  [hominy].  They  add  sometimes  a  fish,  or  what 
they  have  taken,  either  beast  or  bird,  in  hunting.  They  keep  themselves  as  much  as 
possible  from  wine  and  warm  drinks,  nor  are  they  easily  induced  to  taste  them, 
except  in  cases  where  the  English  have  infected  them. 

"  Ignorance  of  their  language  makes  it  as  yet  impossible  for  me  to  assert  what  are 
their  religious  opinions,  for  we  have  not  full  confidence  in  Protestant  interpreters. 
These  few  things  we  have  learned  at  different  times:  they  recognize  one  God  of 
heaven,  whom  they  call  our  God ;  they  pay  to  him  no  external  worship,  but  endeavor 
to  propitiate  by  every  means  in  their  power  a  certain  evil  spirit  which  they  call  Otee. 
They  worship  corn  and  fire,  as  I  am  informed,  as  gods  wonderfully  beneficent  to  the 
human  race. 

"  Some  of  our  people  relate  that  they  have  seen  the  ceremony  at  Barcluxor.  On 
an  appointed  day  all  the  men  and  women  from  many  villages  assembled  around  a 
great  fire.  Next  to  the  fire  stood  the  younger  people,  behind  them  the  men  advanced 
in  life.  A  piece  of  deer's  fat  being  then  thrown  into  the  fire,  the  hands  and  voices 
being  lifted  towards  heaven,  they  cried  out,  Taho!  Taho!  They  then  cleared  a 
small  space,  and  some  one  produced  a  large  bag ;  in  the  bag  was  a  pipe,  and  a  kind 
of  powder  which  they  called  potu.  The  pipe  was  such  as  our  countrymen  use,  but 
larger.  Then  the  bag  was  carried  around  the  fire,  the  boys  and  girls  singing  with  an 
agreeable  voice,  Taho !  Taho !  The  circle  being  ended,  the  pipe  and  powder  were 
taken  from  the  pouch.  The  potu  was  distributed  to  each  of  those  standing  round, 
which  he  put  into  the  pipe  and  smoked,  breathing  the  smoke  over  his  limbs,  and 
sanctifying  them  as  the  smoker  supposes.  I  have  not  been  able  to  learn  more  than 
that  they  appear  to  have  some  knowledge  of  the  flood  by  which  the  world  perished 
because  of  the  sins  of  men." 

There  is  nothing  either  in  these  ceremonial  rites  of  Taho  and  offerings  of  the 
fumes  of  the  fat  of  animals  and  of  tobacco  to  the  god  of  fire,  or  in  the  traditions 
of  a  flood,  or  in  the  language  employed,  to  denote  that  the  Maryland  tribes  differed 
essentially  from  others  of  the  great  Algonkin  stock. 

When  Calvert  landed,  he  was  imbued  with  the  most  friendly  feelings  towards  the 
Indians,  for  they  were  regarded  with  much  interest  in  Europe.  As  with  the  rulers 
of  all  the  new  colonies,  a  knowledge  of  the  policy  which  controlled  the  Indian  tribes 
was  with  him  a  subject  of  primary  importance.  It  soon  became  evident  that  a  great 
aboriginal  nation  in  the  interior  was  alike  the  terror  and  the  aversion  of  all  the 
midland  and  coast  tribes.  This  governing  power  was  the  Iroquois,  the  dreaded 


EARLY  EUROPEAN  SETTLEMENTS.  97 

Massawomacks  of  the  native  Virginia  tril>es,  before  the  crushing  force  of  wlio«o 
prowess  tin*  Susquehanuocks  ami  their  feeble  allies  were  eventually  compelled  to 
succumb. 

The  Chcsjii>eake  Bay  may  have  derived  its  name  from  a  tribe  called  Chesa- 
]x>ake,  which  occupied  Cape  Henry  and  the  surrounding  country,  now  included  in 
Princess  Anne  County,  Virginia,  but  we  have  hitherto  shown  that  the  trilns  more 
probably  took  its  name  from  that  of  the  bay.  It  appears  from  the  geographical 
position  of  the  bay  within  the  limits  of  the  Powhatanic  territory,  an  well  as  from  the 
etymology  of  the  word,  which  we  have  elsewhere  given,  that  the  name  is  of  Algonkin 
derivation. 

When  in  1G08  Captain  Smith  made  a  voyage  to  the  head  of  this  bay,  and  entered 
the  magnificent  river  which  dclxniches  into  it,  he  found  that  the  Susquchannocks, 
who  were  located  on  its  western  shores,  comprised  six  hundred  warriors,  which  would 
denote  a  population  of  three  thousand  souls,  and  ho  was  struck  with  admiration  of 
their  fine  physical  projwrtions  and  manly  voices.  At  that  time  twenty-three  years 
had  elapsed  from  the  date  of  the  first  voyage  to  Virginia.  Whether  a  change  had 
taken  place  in  their  location,  or  whether  the  Virginia  band  had  been  but  an  outlying 
branch,  cannot  now  be  determined,  but  it  is  more  than  probable  that  the  Susquchanna 
Valley  was  their  original  residence. 

Along  the  eastern  shores  of  the  bay  from  Cape  Charles  up,  Smith  mentions  the 
location  of  the  Accomacs  and  the  Accohanocs,  tribes  who  retained  this  general  posit  ion 
during  the  greater  part  of  colonial  history,  and  who  certainly  existed  down  to  the 
jwriod  of  the  Northampton  massacre,  when  they  became  mingled  with  the  negroes. 
Next  in  position  north  he  places  the  Nanticokcs,  under  the  name  of  Toekwaghs,  a 
name  which  may  readily  be  inferred  -tq  apply  to  that  tril>c  when  we  learn  that  they 
were  called  Tawackguano  by  the  Delawares.1  Thence  in  succession  came  the  Ozimics, 
the  Huokarawaocks,  and  the  Wighcomocos,  the  latter  of  jvhom  are  called  Wicomocos 
by  Calvert. 

The  entire  eastern  shore  above  Virginia  has  in  latter  days  l>ecn  regarded  as  tho 
country  of  the  Nanticos  or  Conoy,  for  these  arc  synonymous  names  for  the  same 
people.  An  adverse  fate  befell  that  scattered  tribe.  From  the  earliest  dates  they 
were  at  variance  with  the  Iroquois,  whose  war-canoes  swept  down  the  Susquchanna 
from  their  fastnesses  in  Western  New  York.  We  learn  from  a  competent  authority* 
that  the  Nanticos  were  forced  into  a  league  with  the  Iroquois,  who  finally  adopted 
them,  holding  out  the  flattering  prospect  of  the  tribe  being  received  into  their  con 
federacy  ;  but  if  this  plan  was  ever  carried  out  (and  there  is  evidence  of  it  in  a 
declaration  made  in  1758  by  Tokais,  a  Cayuga  chief),  their  fate  was  not  unlike  that 
of  the  stag  which  falls  into  the  power  of  the  anaconda.  They  helped  to  minister  to 
the  pride  of  the  Iroquois,  as  did  also  the  Tutelos  from  Virginia. 

The  Nanticokes  and  Conoys  (different  bands  of  the  same  people),  wearied  with 
strife,  abandoned  their  residences  in  Lower  Maryland,  and  moved  up  the  Susquehanna, 

>  Gallatin't  SjrnopcU,  p.  52.  •  Charles  Thomaon. 

II. — 13 


98  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

pursuing  its  western  branches  into  the  territories  of  their  conquerors,  the  Iroqaoia. 
Eventually  they  settled  down  beside  fragmentary  bands  of  Shawnees  and  Mohickan- 
dera,  at  Oteiningo,  the  present  site  of  Binghamton,  New  York,  with  whom  they 
formed  a  league,  in  the  hope  of  recovering  their  former  position  by  this  policy.  This 
league  was  called  the  "  Three  Nations."  During  the  month  of  April,  1757,  Owili- 
gascho,  or  Peter  Spelman,  a  German,  who  had  resided  seven  years  among  the 
Shawnees  on  one  of  the  western  branches  of  the  Susquehanna  and  married  a  Shaw- 
nee  wife,  arrived  at  Fort  Johnson,  where  resided  the  Indian  superintendent  for  the 
northern  colonies,  and  reported  that  this  new  confederacy  would  visit  him  in  a  short 
time  with  a  body  of  nearly  two  hundred  men,  and  that  they  were  now  on  the  road. 
Their  object  was  to  smoke  a  friendly  pipe  with  Sir  William  Johnson,  after  the 
manner  of  their  fathers,  and  to  offer  him  assistance  in  the  war  against  the  French. 
He  presented  two  strings  of  wampum  from  the  clack  as  the  credentials  of  his 
authority.  On  the  19th  of  the  same  month  these  Indians  arrived  on  the  opposite 
bank  of  the  river,  which  was  then  swelled  by  the  spring  flood.  The  chiefs,  having 
crossed  in  canoes,  were  admitted  to  a  council.  The  Shawnees  were  represented  by 
Puxinosa  and  fifty-two  of  his  warriors ;  the  Mohickanders  by  Mammatsican,  their 
king,  with  one  hundred  and  forty-seven  of  his  nation ;  and  the  Nanticokes  by 
Hamightaghlawatawa,  with  eight  of  his  people.  Having  been  addressed  in  favorable 
and  congratulatory  terms  by  Sir  William,  who  explained  to  them  the  true  position 
of  the  English,  as  contrasted  with  that  of  the  French,  respecting  the  Indians,  two 
days  subsequently  the  chiefs  replied,  accepting  the  offer  of  the  chain  of  friendship, 
and  promising  to  keep  "  fast  hold  of  it,  and  not  quit  it,  so  long  as  the  world  endured." 
In  this  address  allusion  is  incidentally  made  to  a  belt  sent  the  previous  year  to  the 
unfriendly  Delaware  and  Ohio  Indians  in  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Du  Quesne,  and  also 
to  a  similar  belt  sent  to  the  Delaware  chief,  Tediscund,  residing  at  Tioga.1  They 
formally  apprise  Johnson  of  the  league  between  the  Nanticokes,  Mohickanders,  aud 
Shawnees,  of  which  he  had  been  previously  informed  by  Owiligascho,  and  also  that 
they  have  concentrated  at  Otsiningo,  on  the  Susquehanna,  where  messages  are  directed 
to  be  sent  to  them  in  future. 

There  is  a  trait  of  Indian  shrewdness  observable  at  the  conclusion  of  their  reply 
to  Sir  William  Johnson,  in  a  curious  allusion  to  an  event  which  occurred  while  the 
Mohickanders  still  resided  on  the  Hudson.  "Tis  now  nine  years  ago,"*  said  the 
speaker,  "  that  a  misfortune  happened  near  Reinbeck,  in  this  province ;  a  white  man 
there  shot  a  young  man,  an  Indian.  There  was  a  meeting  held  thereon,  and  Mar- 
tinus  Hoffman  said,  '  Brothers,  there  are  two  methods  of  settling  this  accident ;  one 
according  to  the  white  people's  customs,  the  other  according  to  the  Indians'.  Which 
of  them  will  you  choose  ?  If  you  will  go  according  to  the  Indian  manner,  the  man 
who  shot  the  Indian  may  yet  live.  If  this  man's  life  is  spared,  and  at  any  time 
hereafter  an  Indian  should  kill  a  white  man,  and  you  desire  it,  his  life  shall  also  be 

1  Spelled  "  Tiaogo"  in  Col.  Doc.,  yoL  Yii.  p.  249. 

*  Thia  settles  the  fiual  withdrawal  of  the  Mohickindera  from  the  Hudson  after  1748. 


EARLY  EUROPEAN  SETTLEMENTS.  99 

• 

spared.'  You  told  us,  two  days  ago,  that  when  a  man  is  dead  there  is  no  bringing 
him  to  life  again.  We  understand  there  are  two  Indians  in  jail  at  Albany  accused 
of  killing  a  white  man.  They  are  alive,  and  may  live  to  be  of  service,  and  we  beg 
you,  as  the  chief  of  the  Great  King,  our  Father,  that  they  may  be  released." 

The  alliance  thus  formed  with  the  British  government  in  1757  was  carefully  fos 
tered,  and  remained  unbroken  during  the  progress  of  the  Revolution.  The  larger 
part  of  these  Indians  probably  afterwards  went  to  Canada  with  the  Munsees  and 
Delawares,  where  numbers  of  the  latter  tribe  were  located.  A  few  of  them,  how 
ever,  who  lingered  within  the  precincts  of  New  York,  probably  became  absorbed  in 
the  Brothertons,  a  band  comprising  fragments  of  various  Algonkin  tribes  who  had 
dropped  their  own  dialects  and  adopted  the  English  language. 

At  the  time  of  the  settlement  of  Jamestown,  the  Susquehannocks  claimed  the 
country  lying  between  the  Potomac  and  Susquehanna  Rivers, — an  area  comprising 
the  entire  western  half  of  Maryland.  This  was  their  hunting-ground,  and  marked 
the  boundary-line  between  their  jurisdiction  and  that  of  the  Powhatanic  forest 
kingdom.  Whatever  were  the  local  names  of  the  bands  occupying  the  banks  of 
the  several  intermediate  rivers,  they  were  merely  subordinate  to  the  reigning  tribe 
primarily  located  on  the  shores  of  the  Susquehanna.  Subsequently  the  tribe  trans 
ferred  their  council-fire  to  a  point  on  the  Patuxent,  in  a  position  less  exposed  to  the 
incessant  inroads  of  the  Iroquois. 

The  lower  class  of  adventurers  and  settlers  who  emigrated  to  Virginia  and 
Maryland  at  this  early  period  was  composed  of  persons  who  were  liable  to  become 
embroiled  with  the  Indians,  whose  character  they  invariably  misjudged  and  whose 
lives  they  held  to  be  valueless.  By  these  persons  the  natives  were  regarded  only  as 
the  medium  through  which  they  could  pursue  a  profitable  traffic  in  skins  and  furs, 
which  was  free  to  every  one  who  chose  to  engage  in  it  or  possessed  the  requisite 
capital.  Unfortunately  for  the  Indians,  they  could  not  restrain  their  appetite  for 
ardent  spirits,  and  consequently  it  should  excite  no  surprise  that  a  tribe  thus  pressed 
on  one  hand  by  a  powerful  and  infuriated  enemy  and  on  the  other  enticed  by  temp 
tation  to  indulgence  should  rapidly  decline. 

The  effects  of  commerce  with  the  whites  on  the  condition  of  the  aboriginal  tribes 
of  Maryland,  located  on  the  shores  skirting  the  open  waters  of  the  Chesapeake,  were 
of  so  baneful  a  character  as  to  destroy  their  power  and  importance  within  fifty  years 
after  the  landing  of  Calvert.  Without  any  strong  political  organization,  or  any 
permanent  union  among  themselves,  ever  anxious  to  obtain  the  benefits  of  commerce 
and  trade,  and  lacking  the  firm  moral  purpose  to  resist  the  evil  influences  to  which 
they  were  exposed,  the  Indians  were  placed  in  precisely  the  same  position  as  were 
the  coast-tribes  of  Virginia,  who  wasted  away  with  a  degree  of  rapidity  which 
surprised  her  statesmen.  They  exchanged  their  furs  and  fish,  the  only  available 
products  of  their  forests  and  streams,  for  the  means  of  indulgence,  and  when  this 
resource  failed  they  sold  their  lands  to  obtain  the  same  destructive  stimulants. 
Whether  gunpowder,  which  annihilated  the  animals,  performed  its  work  more  effect 
ually  than  alcohol,  which  thinned  the  ranks  of  the  Indians,  may  well  be  doubted. 


100  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

• 

Jealous  of  their  tribal  sovereignty,  the  Susquehannocks  by  intestine  wan  increased 
the  work  of  self-destruction  begun  by  intemperance,  and  when,  like  the  other  tribes, 
they  began  to  assert  their  rights  and  resist  the  encroachments  of  Europeans,  they  had 
already  diminished  so  much  in  population  that  they  lacked  the  ability  to  maintain 
their  ground.  They  were  outwitted  in  diplomacy  by  a  civilized  nation,  and  if  they 
did  not  disappear  before  the  steady  progress  of  arts  and  industry,  they  were  enervated 
during  peace  and  conquered  in  war. 

One  cause  operated  powerfully  to  hasten  the  downfall  of  the  Susquehannocks, — 
the  mismanagement  of  their  relations  with  the  settlers  of  Virginia.  The  Virginians 
on  the  southern  banks  of  the  Potomac,  for  some  reason,  believed  the  Susquehannocks 
to  have  been  guilty  of  committing  depredations  and  foul  murders  on  their  frontiers. 
In  1675  some  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  most  northerly  portion  of  Virginia,  while  on 
their  way  to  attend  church,  found  the  nearly  lifeless  body  of  a  settler  lying  across 
the  threshold  of  his  own  door,  and  an  Indian  lying  dead  on  the  ground  near  him. 
The  white  man  was  mortally  wounded,  but  lived  long  enough  to  inform  them  that 
the  Indians  came  from  the  Maryland  shore. 

The  sensation  produced  by  this  outrage  was  extreme.  Two  spirited  officers  of 
the  militia,  Mason  and  Brent,  accompanied  by  thirty  men,  promptly  pursued  the 
murderers.  Ascending  the  valley  of  the  Potomac  some  twenty  miles,  they  crossed 
its  channel  to  the  Maryland  shore,  where  they  found  two  Indian  paths.  Dividing 
their  force,  Mason  took  one  trail  and  Brent  the  other.  A  short  pursuit  by  each  party 
terminated  in  the  discovery  of  two  Indian  wigwams.  Brent  having  accused  one  of 
the  occupants  of  the  lodge  which  he  found  as  the  murderer,  the  Indian  denied  the 
accusation,  and  attempted  to  escape,  but  was  shot  down  by  a  pistol-ball  which  lodged 
in  his  back.  The  other  inmates  then  fired  and  made  a  spring  for  the  door  of  the 
wigwam,  but  the  rifle  laid  ten  of  the  number  dead  on  the  spot  Meantime,  Mason 
had  arrived  at  the  other  lodge,  the  Indians  in  which,  hearing  the  firing  at  the  first 
lodge,  hastened  to  effect  their  escape.  Fourteen  of  them  were  shot,  when  one  of  the 
survivors  having  rushed  up  to  Mason  and  declared  that  they  were  Susquehannocks 
and  friends,  the  firing  was  instantly  stopped. 

The  Susquehannocks  subsequently  accused  the  Senecas  of  having  committed  the 
murders  in  Virginia.  Who  the  perpetrators  really  were  is  unknown,  but  other 
massacres  immediately  followed  on  those  borders,  which  so  excited  the  people  of 
Maryland,  as  well  as  of  Virginia,  that  they  united  in  mustering  one  thousand  men  to 
march  against  the  Susquehannocks.  This  force  was  placed  under  the  command  of 
Colonel  John  Washington.1  Meanwhile,  the  Susquehannocks  had  taken  possession 
of  an  old  abandoned  fort,  which,  having  been  used  by  the  whites  in  previous  wars, 
was  singularly  well  calculated  for  defence.  It  was  encompassed  by  ample  earthen 
walls,  containing  a  gate  and  surrounded  by  a  ditch,  the  counterscarp  of  the  latter 
being  planted  with  trees,  closely  wattled,  which  presented  an  impenetrable  curtain. 

The  Maryland  and  Virginia  forces  appeared  before  this  fort  on  the  23d  of  Sep- 

1  Great-grandfather  of  General  George  Washington. 


EARLY  EUROPEAN  SETTLEMENTS.  101 

tcmbcr.  Conferences  were  hold,  in  which  the  Indians,  although  holdly  accused  of 
the  murders,  strongly  denied  their  complicity,  notwithstanding  three  of  the  bloody 
deeds  had  been  identified  as  their  acts.  They  agreed  to  deliver  Ilarignera  and  five 
others  of  their  principal  chiefs  to  the  English  as  hostages  for  the  security  of  their 
frontiers.  The  morning  after  the  consummation  of  this  treaty,  one  Captain  John 
Allen,  a  leader  of  the  Maryland  Rangers,  having  reported  the  circumstance  of  the 
murder  of  Randolph  Hanson  among  the  recent  outrages,  was  sent  with  a  guard  to 
ascertain  whether  it  had  been  the  work  of  Indians.  It  so  occurred  that  during  the 
final  conference  for  the  conclusion  of  the  treaty  by  the  terms  of  which  the  six  chiefs 
had  been  delivered  over  to  the  custody  of  the  military,  Allen  returned  from  this 
examination,  bringing  with  him  the  mangled  remains  of  the  victims,  the  appearance 
of  which  left  no  doubt  that  they  had  been  foully  murdered  by  the  Indians.  The 
whole  camp  was  instantly  a  scene  of  excitement,  every  one  imagining  he  saw  his 
nearest  friend,  or  some  loved  one,  in  the  cruel  grip  of  savages.  Five  of  the  hostages, 
comprising  the  leading  sachems  and  wise  men  of  the  Susquehannocks,  were  immedi 
ately  condemned  to  death,  and  were  accordingly  executed.  During  the  night  the 
Indians  dexterously  and  silently  evacuated  the  fort  and  fled,  taking  with  them  all 
their  women  and  children.  The  warriors  of  this  party  attacked  with  savage  fury  the 
white  residents  on  the  frontiers  of  Virginia,  killing  many,  and  committing  numerous 
depredations,  finally  either  being  exterminated  in  these  forays  or  becoming  scattered 
among  other  bands. 

This  was  not,  however,  the  severest  blow  that  the  Susquehannocks  received.  It 
appears  from  the  relation  of  Evans  that  a  body  of  troops  led  by  a  Marylander 
attacked  them  at  a  position  east  of  the  Susquehanna,  about  three  miles  below  Wright's 
Ferry,  now  known  as  Columbia,  killing  several  hundred  men.  It  is  proved  by 
Golden  (from  data  produced  at  the  treaty  of  Lancaster,  negotiated  in  1744)  that  the 
Susquehannocks  formed  a  part  of  the  Conestogas,  an  original  Oneida  tribe,  and  that 
they  were  finally  settled  in  the  territory  of  that  nation  in  Western  New  York. 
Oneida  tradition  places  the  birth  and  origin  of  the  celebrated  chief  Skenandoah  at 
Conestoga,  whence  in  early  life  he  came  to  Oneida  Castle. 

The  synonymous  names  of  the  Indian  tribes  in  the  United  States  have  operated 
greatly  to  complicate  or  retard  the  development  of  their  true  history.  This  subject 
has  been  a  stumbling-block  to  writers,  as  well  at  home  as  abroad,  where  some  of  the 
ablest  historians  have  been  misled  by  it,  mistaking  the  several  names  of  the  same 
tribe  for  those  of  different  tribes.  The  Indian  history  of  Maryland,  and  of  its  lead 
ing  tribe,  the  Susquehannocks,  has  been  obscured  in  this  way.  The  early  French 
writers  in  Canada,  and  those  who  on  their  authority  have  since  written  of  that 
country,  constantly  mention  a  tribe  whose  name  in  the  softest  form  is  given  as 
Andastes.  Although  residing  in  well-known  limits  of  the  United  States,  their  name 
is  not  to  be  found  in  the  works  of  any  of  our  historians.  Fortunately,  however, 
there  existed  between  them  and  the  Indian  allies  of  the  French  sufficient  intercourse 
to  give  us  data  whereby  to  determine  their  location,  language,  numbers,  and  power. 

Friends  of  the  Swedish  colony  on  the  Delaware,  friends  of  the  Hurons  in  Upper 


102  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Canada,  friends  at  a  later  date  of  Maryland  and  Pennsylvania,  they  were  repeatedly 
at  war  with  the  powerful  Iroquois.  Like  the  latter  and  the  Neuters,  they  were  a 
branch  of  the  great  Huron-Iroquois  family.  According  to  Bressani,  they  were 
located  five  hundred  miles — or,  as  the  "  Relation"  of  1647-48  has  it,  one  hundred 
and  fifty  leagues — southwest  by  south  of  the  Hurons,  inclining  a  little  eastward. 
This  measurement  was  in  a  direct  line,  the  road  usually  taken  being  somewhat 
longer,  and  at  least  twojiundred  leagues.  A  la'rge  river,  rising  near  Lake  Ontario, 
led  to  the  town.  They~resided  near  the  Swedish  settlement,  and  were  on  friendly 
terms  with  the  Scandinavian  colonists. 

Quite  naturally  we  turn  to  Swedish  accounts  to  find  some  traces  of  this  people. 
Proud,  in  his  "  History  of  Pennsylvania"  and  the  "  Historical  Collections,"  actually 
locates  a  tribe  called  Andastakas  on  Christiana  Creek,  but  does  not  indicate  on  what 
authority.  The  name  does  not  appear  in  Swedish  accounts,  and  this  is  natural,  as 
the  surrounding  tribes  were  Algonkin,  and  the  Swedish  name  would  of  course  be 
Algic.  A  band  of  the  Akwinoshioni  existed  near  the  Swedes,  whom  they  called 
Mengwe,  a  term  that  Heckewelder  tells  us  is  the  same  as  Mingo.  Campanius  has 
preserved  a  vocabulary  of  their  language,  which  is  a  dialect  of  the  Huron-Iro 
quois,  as  Duponceau  long  since  observed.  This  word  is  not  to  be  confounded  with 
Minqua.  Minqua  was  the  Dutch  and  Swedish  name  for  the  Susquehan nocks.  A 
creek  running  into  the  Delaware  bore  the  mime  of  Minquakill,  not  that  the  Minqua 
lived  on  it,  but  because  it  led  to  their  country.  This  would  place  them  on  the  Sus- 
quehanna,  where  the  French  locate  the  Andostes.  Their  town  is  thus  described  by 
Campanius :  "  The  Minques,  or  Minckus,  lived  at  the  distance  of  twelve  [fifty-four 
English]  miles  from  New  Sweden,  where  they  daily  came  to  trade  with  us.  The 
way  to  their  land  was  very  bad,  being  rocky,  full  of  sharp  gray  stones,  with  hills  and 
morasses,  so  that  the  Swedes  when  they  went  to  them,  which  happened  once  or  twice 
a  year,  had  to  walk  in  the  water  up  to  their  armpits.  .  .  .  They  live  on  a  high 
mountain,  very  steep  and  difficult  to  climb ;  there  they  have  a  fort  or  square  building 
in  which  they  reside.  They  have  guns  and  small  iron  cannon,  with  which  they  shoot 
and  defend  themselves,  and  take  with  them  when  they  go  to  war.  They  are  strong 
and  vigorous,  both  old  and  young ;  they  are  a  tall  people,  and  not  frightful  in  their 
appearance." 

There  can  be  little  doubt  as  to  the  identity  of  these  Swedish  Minqua  and  the 
Andastoe,  or  Gandastogue",  of  the  French.  Let  us  now  see  what  we  can  elicit  from 
European  annals  regarding  their  history.  Towards  the  close  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  they  had  in  a  ten  years'  war  almost  exterminated  the  Mohawks.  The 
Minquas  were  a  warlike  people,  and,  as  usual  with  the  Huron-Iroquois,  were  a 
superior  race  to  their  Algic  neighbors.  "  They  made  the  other  Indians,"  says  Cam 
panius,  "  subject  to  them,  so  that  they  dared  not  stir,  much  less  go  to  war  against 
them."  In  1633,  De  Vries  found  them  at  war  with  the  Timber  Creek  Indians.  A 
short  time  thereafter  the  Swedes  purchased  a  portion  of  their  territory,  and  in  1645, 
under  the  name  of  Susquehanna  or  Conestoga  Indians,  they  ceded  to  Maryland  a 
tract  beginning  at  the  Patuxent  River  on  the  west  and  terminating  at  the  Choptank 


EARLY  EUROPEAN  SETTLEMENTS.  103 

River  on  the  east.  The  Andastes,  or  Gandastogufc,  who  are  evidently  these  Cones- 
togas,  were  from  time  immemorial  friends  and  allies  of  the  Hurons,  and  not  over- 
friendly  to  the  Iroquois.  In  1G47,  when  the  former  were  on  the  brink  of  ruin,  the 
Andastes,  then  able  to  send  from  their  single  town  thirteen  hundred  warriors,  "  who, 
when  fighting,  never  fled,  but  stood  like  a  wall  as  long  as  there  was  one  remaining," 
despatched  an  embassy  to  Lake  Huron  with  an  offer  to  espouse  their  quarrel. 

An  embassy,  headed  by  the  Christian,  Charles  Ondaaiondiont,  soon  after  set  out 
from  the  villages  of  the  Wyandots  or  Hurons.  In  ten  days  they  reached  the  Andaste 
town,  and  on  their  appeal  the  Andastes  resolved  to  interfere.  An  embassy,  loaded 
with  rich  presents,  was  sent  to  Onondaga  to  demand  why  the  Iroquois  struck  the 
Wyandots,  and  to  ask  them  to  be  wise  and  bury  the  hatchet.  Charles,  meanwhile, 
leaving  a  person  to  await  the  return  of  the  deputies,  set  out  for  the  Huron  country, 
•which  he  reached  only  after  a  long  and  tedious  march  of  forty  days,  made  necessary 
by  the  war-parties  which  the  Senecas  sent  out  to  intercept  him.  His  journey  to 
Andaste  had  occupied  but  ten  days.  While  at  Andaste,  he  visited  the  churchless 
settlement  of  the  Swedes,  where  was  lying  a  Dutch  ship  from  Manhattan,  by  which 
he  received  tidings  of  the  murder  of  his  old  friend  Ondessonk,  the  Jesuit  Father 
Jogues,  whom  the  Mohawks  had  mercilessly  butchered  near  Albany. 

The  Iroquois  accepted  the  presents  of  the  Andastes,  but  nevertheless  continued 
the  war.  The  Hurons,  however,  never  required  the  Andastes  to  enter  the  field,  and 
the  latter  seem  to  have  taken  no  further  part  in  the  war. 

Yet,  in  1652,  the  Journal  of  the  Superior  of  the  Jesuits  at  Montreal,  which  gives 
as  synonymous  the  names  Andastoe  and  Atrakwer,  mentions  a  report  that  six  hun 
dred  of  the  Andastes  had  been  taken  by  the  Iroquois.  This  report  was  probably 
unfounded.  They  were  at  peace  in  1656,  although  we  learn  that  in  that  year  some 
Andastoe  hunters  were  robbed  by  the  Onondagas  on  Lake  Ontario,  and  war  was 
expected  in  consequence. 

In  1660  the  successors  of  the  Swedes  still  continued  their  friendly  intercourse 
•with  the  Andastes,  or  Minquas.  In  the  following  year  we  find  their  town  ravaged 
by  the  smallpox ;  and,  as  Campanius  tells  us,  their  loss  by  that  scourge  of  the 
Indians  was  such  as  to  weaken  them  greatly  as  a  nation.  Yet  under  this  affliction  * 
their  spirit  remained  unbroken.  In  1661  some  of  their  tribe  were  cut  off  by  the 
Senecas,  and  they  in  return  killed  three  Cayugas  in  the  same  year.  In  the  following 
year  they  defeated  the  western  cantons,  who  then  supplicated  the  French  for  aid. 
The  Senecas  soon  after  renewed  their  request,  and  we  find  that  in  May,  1663,  an 
army  of  sixteen  hundred  Senecas  inarched  against  the  Minquas  and  laid  siege  to  a 
little  fort  defended  by  one  hundred  warriors  of  that  tribe,  who,  confident  in  their 
own  bravery,  and  assured  of  receiving  assistance  from  their  countrymen,  as  well  as 
from  their  -white  friends  in  Maryland,  held  out  manfully.  At  last,  sallying  out,  they 
routed  the  Senecas,  killing  ten,  and  recovering  as  many  of  their  own  countrymen. 
For  a  time  this  victory  gave  them  a  preponderance,  and  such  was  the  terror  of  their 
arms  that  a  portion  of  the  Cayugas,  being  hard  pressed  and  harassed  by  their 
inroads,  removed  to  Quinto,  north  of  Lake  Ontario. 


104  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

The  war  was  continued  in  a  desultory  manner.  In  1668  the  missionary  resident 
at  Onondaga  beheld  a  Gandastogue*  girl  tied  to  the  stake,  and  in  1669  the  Oneidas 
sent  out  parties  against  them.  In  1670  prisoners  were  again  brought  to  Seneca  and 
Oneida,  where  they  were  tortured.  During  the  previous  autumn  the  Gandastogues 
had  again  attacked  the  Gayugas,  but  at  last  they  sent  an  ambassador  to  the  latter, 
who,  contrary  to  usage,  was  imprisoned,  and  in  the  spring  put  to  death,  together  with 
his  nephew. 

About  this  time  an  Iroquois  medicine-man,  when  dying,  ordered  his  body  to  be 
interred  on  the  road  to  the  country  of  the  Andastes,  promising  to  prevent,  even  in 
death,  the  inroads  of  that  wailing  yet  terrible  tribe.  He  also  promised  that  Hochi- 
tagete,  the  great  chief  of  the  Andastes,  should  fall  into  their  hands.  Notwithstanding 
his  prophecy,  despite  the  potency  of  his  bones,  the  Andastes  carried  off  three  Cayuga 
women,  and  when  a  party  of  Senecas  took  the  field,  with  promises  of  support  from 
a  reserve  of  Cayugas,  they  were  met,  attacked,  and  defeated  by  a  party  of  sixty 
Andaste  youth,  or  rather  boys,  who,  having  killed  several  and  routed  the  rest,  started 
in  pursuit  of  the  Cayugas,  whom,  however,  they  failed  to  overtake. 

This  victory  was  needed ;  for  the  Andastes  had  suffered  greatly  in  point  of  num 
bers.  "  God  help  them  I"  says  the  missionary  who  relates  the  preceding  victory : 
"  they  have  only  three  hundred  warriors  1" 

The  war  continued,  but  the  Marylanders  became  the  enemies  of  the  Andastes  or 
Conestogas,  and  by  the  year  1675  they  had  at  length  yielded  to  the  Iroquois,  who 
removed  a  portion  of  them,  at  least,  from  their  old  position  to  one  higher  up,  perhaps 
to  Onoghquage. 

Some  of  the  Conestogas,  however,  remained  at  the  place  which  still  bears  their 
name.  They  made  a  treaty  with  Penn  in  1683,  but  when  that  proprietor  became 
aware  of  their  dependent  state  he  applied  to  the  Iroquois  through  Dongan.  When 
a  subsequent  treaty  was  concluded  with  them,  in  1701,  a  deputy  from  Onondaga  was 
present,  and  ratified  the  acts  of  Conoodagtoh,  "  the  king  of  the  Susquehanna1  Men- 
quays,  or  Conestoga  Indians."  At  this  period  other  Indians  had  joined  the  survivors, 
and  Shawnese,  as  well  as  Ganawese,  also  appear  among  them.  Subsequently,  when 
a  treaty  was  negotiated  with  Lieutenant-Governor  Patrick  Gordon,  four  chiefs  of 
the  Conestogas  (one  the  somewhat  celebrated  interpreter,  Civility)  were  present,  and 
also  the  same  number  of  Algonkin  chiefs,  headed  by  Tiorhaasery.  Golden  represents 
them  as  speaking  Oneida,  and  in  fact  their  dialect  approximates  it  greatly.*  Besides 
the  Algonkins,  there  were  some  kindred  Nanticokes  at  Conestoga ;  but  they  formed 
only  a  small  village,  destined  soon  to  perish. 

1  It  will  be  seen  that  the  terra  Snsqnehannas  is  used  as  if  it  were  m  synonjme  of  Conestogas.  Smith 
(p.  182)  speaks  of  the  Susqnehannocks  as  using  a  different  language  from  the  Virginian — that  is,  from  the 
Algonkin — tribes.  Unfortunately,  no  trace  of  their  language  remains,  as  Gallatin  assures  as,  unless,  indeed, 
the  unpublished  grammar,  dictionary,  and  catechism  of  the  Jesuit  Father  White,  one  of  the  first  settlers  of 
Maryland,  which  are  still  preserved  at  Rome,  should  prove  to  be  in  thai  language. 

*  Golden,  ii.  58.  The  name  Tiorhaasery  is  that  borne  by  the  celebrated  missionary  Lamberville,  and 
means  "  dawning  of  the  day." 


EARLY  EUROPEAN  SETTLEMENTS.  105 

la  1763  they  numbered  only  twenty  souls,  living  in  a  cluster  of  squalid  cabins, 
and  all  dependent  on  the  industry  of  the  female  portion.  The  men  were  wild,  gypsy- 
like  beings,  and,  in  the  troubled  state  of  the  country,  while  Pontiac  was  encircling 
the  colony  with  an  ever-narrowing  hedge  of  burning  dwellings,  excited  suspicion  by 
their  careless  if  not  threatening  language.  In  their  vicinity  was  the  town  of  Paxton, 
settled  by  Irish  Presbyterians,  who  had  imbibed  a  fanatical  hatred  of  pagan  institu 
tions.  These  men,  having  suddenly  resolved  to  destroy  the  last  distinct  remnant  of 
the  Andastes,  Minquas,  or  Conestogas,  armed  themselves,  and  in  mid-winter  attacked 
the  little  village,  in  which  they  found  only  six  persons,  whom  they  butchered,  and 
then  fired  their  log  huts.  The  sheriff  of  Lancaster,  upon  learning  of  the  outrage, 
hurried  the  survivors  to  the  jail  of  that  town  as  a  place  of  security ;  but  even  here 
they  could  not  escape  the  fury  of  the  Paxton  boys.  On  the  27th  of  December,  while 
the  townsfolk  were  in  church,  they  entered  the  town,  broke  open  the  jail,  and  mas 
sacred  the  survivors,  who  fought  desperately  with  billets  of  wood,  thus  maintaining 
to  the  last  their  ancient  renown.1 

Such  was  the  close  of  the  history  of  the  Andantes.  The  remnant  of  a  nation 
which  had  during  fourteen  years  engaged  the  victorious  Iroquois  hand  to  hand  were 
massacred  by  a  band  of  lawless  whites. 

It  will  not  be  deemed  improper  before  closing  the  history  of  one  of  the  most 
prominent  and  characteristic  tribes  existing  during  the  early  days  of  the  central 
colonies  of  the  United  States,  a  brave  and  high-spirited  race,  to  collate,  in  a  brief 
form,  the  principal  events  of  the  times  which  constitute  the  basis  of  their  history. 
In  this  resume  it  will  be  found  necessary  to  repeat  some  statements  which  we  have 
already  made. 

According  to  a  tradition  narrated  in  the  Jesuit  "Relation"  for  1659-60,  the 
Andastes  had,  prior  to  1600,  during  a  ten  years'  war,  almost  exterminated  the  Mo 
hawks,  and  so  completely  humbled  that  bold  and  warlike  tribe  that  after  the  period 
mentioned  they  seldom  dared  to  provoke  them. 

However,  in  1608,  Smith  found  the  tribes  still  contending  with  one  another 
equally  resolute  and  warlike, — the  Susquehannas,  or  Andastes,  being  impregnable  in 
their  palisaded  town,  and  ruling  over  all  the  Algonkin  tribes. 

Soon  after  the  Dutch  settled  New  York  they  visited  the  Delaware  River,  and 
became  acquainted  with  the  dominant  tribe,  the  Minquas,  who  came  from  the  Sus- 
quehanna,  by  Minquaskill,  to  trade  with  them.  In  1633,  De  Vries  found  them 
ruling  with  an  iron  hand  the  tribes  located  on  the  banks  of  the  Delaware.  Five 
years  subsequently,  Minuit,  at  the  head  of  a  colony  of  Swedes,  founded  New  Sweden, 
purchasing  the  land  from  the  Minquas.  A  strong  friendship  grew  up  between  the 
settlers  and  this  tribe,  and  a  lucrative  trade  was  carried  on,  which  excited  the  jealousy 
of  the  Dutch,  who  made  repeated  endeavors  to  obtain  a  share  of  it 

Of  the  trade  of  the  Swedes  with  the  Susquehannas,  and  especially  of  their  sup 
plying  the  latter  with  fire-arms,  we  have  a  proof  in  Plowden's  "  New  Albion :"  "  The 

1  I'arkman's  Conspiracy  of  Pontiac. 
II— 14 


106  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Swedes  hired  out  three  of  their  soldiers  to  the  Susquehannocks,  and  have  taught 
them  the  use  of  our  arms  and  fights. ' 

In  1647  the  Hurons  were  on  the  brink  of  ruin.  The  Iroqnois  had  pursued  them, 
after  their  alliance  with  the  French,  with  the  utmost  fury.  By  stratagem  the  whole 
district  of  country  from  the  Oswego,  G  nesee,  and  Niagara  Rivers  to  the  very  skirts 
of  Montreal  was  covered  by  war-parties,  who  waylaid  every  path.  Themselves  of 
the  Iroquois  lineage,  the  war  was  waged  with  the  desperation  of  a  family  quarrel. 
There  was  no  pity  and  no  mercy  in  the  Iroquois  mode  of  warfare.  They  have  been 
known  to  travel  a  thousand  miles  and  then  conceal  themselves  near  the  cabin  of 
some  unsuspecting  foe  that  they  might  deprive  him  of  his  scalp.  During  the  war 
with  the  Iroquois,  the  Susquehannas,  then  able  to  send  thirteen  hundred  warriors 
from  their  single  town,  despatched  an  embassy  to  the  shores  of  Lake  Huron  to  offer 
their  aid  to  their  ancient  allies,  promising  to  take  up  arms  whenever  called  upon. 
The  infatuated  Hurons  relied  on  their  own  strength,  and  seem  to  have  slighted  the 
proffered  assistance  till  it  was  too  late. 

The  Dutch  still  continued  to  struggle  for  the  Minqua  or  Susquehanna  trade,  from 
which  the  Swedes  no  less  zealously  endeavored  to  exclude  them;  but  in  1651  the 
Dutch  purchased  of  the  Minquas  all  the  land  between  the  Minquaskill  and  Bomties 
Hook,  in  the  name  of  the  States-General  and  the  West  India  Company. 

At  the  period  of  Calvert's  colonization,  the  Susquehannas  had  been  at  war  with 
the  Piscataways,  as  well  as  with  other  Maryland  tribes,  and  seem  to  have  cut  off  a 
missionary  settlement  In  1642  they  were  declared  enemies  of  the  colony,  and,  as 
they  still  continued  their  ravages  with  the  Wycomeses,  and  apparently  with  the  Sen- 
ecas,  Captain  Cornwallis  was  sent  against  them,  and  a  fort  was  erected  on  Palmer's 
Island  to  check  their  inroads.  The  war  continued,  however,  and  an  effort  made  to 
bring  about  a  conference  in  May,  1644,  with  a  view  to  establishing  peace,  failed.  The 
new  settlements  of  the  Puritans  on  the  Severn,  in  the  very  territories  of  the  Susque 
hannas,  having  given  fresh  umbrage,  the  frontier  was  ravaged  by  predatory  bands. 
In  1652,  however,  peace  was  firmly  established  by  a  treaty  signed  at  the  river  Severn, 
on  the  5th  of  July,  by  Richard  Bennett,  Edward  Lloyd,  William  Fuller,  Leonard 
Strong,  and  Thomas  Marsh,  on  behalf  of  the  colony,  and  Sawahegeh,  Auroghtaregh, 
Scarhuhadigh,  Rutchogah,  and  Natheldianeh,  Susquehanna  "war-captains  and  coun 
cillors,"  in  the  presence  of  "  Jafer  Peter  for  the  Swedes  Governor." 

By  this  treaty  all  past  grievances  were  forgiven  on  both  sides,  peace  was  estab 
lished,  and  provision  made  to  prevent  future  hostilities.  The  Susquehannas  thereby 
ceded  to  the  colony  all  the  territory  between  Patuxent  River  and  Palmer's  Island, 
on  the  west,  and  from  Choptank  River  to  the  branch  above  Elk  River,  excepting 
Palmer's  Island,  on  which  both  parties  were  at  liberty  to  have  trading-houses. 

In  1652  a  war  broke  out  between  the  Andastes  and  the  Senecas,  which  continued 
as  late  as  1673,  for  in  the  Jesuit  "Relation"  for  1672-73  we  find  the  following  re 
mark  of  Father  Lamberville:  "Two  Andastogues  taken  by  the  Iroquois  were  more 
fortunate:  they  received  baptism  immediately  before  the  hot  irons  were  applied.  One 
of  them,  having  been  burnt  in  a  cabin  during  the  night  from  the  feet  up  to  the 


EARLY  EUROPEAN  SETTLEMENTS.  107 

knees,  prayed  with  me  the  next  day,  when  bound  to  a  stake  in  the  square  of  the 
castle.  I  need  not  repeat  here,  what  is  already  known,  that  the  tortures  inflicted  on 
these  prisoners  of  war  are  horrible.  The  patience  of  these  poor  victims  is  admirable ; 
but  it  is  impossible  to  behold  without  horror  their  flesh  roasted  and  devoured  by  men 
who  act  like  famished  dogs.  »• 

"  Passing  one  day  by  a  place  where  they  were  cutting  up  the  body  of  one  of  these 
victims,  I  could  not  refrain  from  going  up  to  inveigh  against  this  brutality.  One  of 
these  cannibals  was  calling  for  a  knife  to  cut  off  an  arm ;  I  opposed  it,  and  threat 
ened,  if  he  would  not  desist,  that  God  would  sooner  or  later  punish  his  cruelty.  He 
persisted,  however,  giving  as  his  reason  that  he  was  invited  to  a  dream-feast,  where 
nothing  was  to  be  eaten  but  human  flesh,  brought  by  the  guests  themselves.  Two 
days  after,  God  permitted  his  wife  to  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Andastogues,  who 
avenged  on  her  the  cruelty  of  her  husband." 

Of  the  two  following  years  we  have  no  definite  account,  but  in  1675  the  "  Etat 
Present"  of  Monseigneur  de  St.  Valier,  Bishop  of  Quebec,  speaks  of  the  pride  of  the 
Iroquois  since  the  defeat  of  the  Andastes.  When  or  where  the  decisive  battle  was 
fought,  I  have  been  utterly  unable  to  trace :  from  what  can  be  gleaned  from  the 
annals  of  Maryland  and  Virginia,  it  seems  probable  that  their  stronghold  was  taken, 
and  that  the  survivors  fled  south. 

According  to  the  historians  of  Maryland  and  Virginia,  the  Senecas  had,  in  1674, 
conquered  the  Susquehannas,  and  driven  them  from  their  abode  at  the  head  of  the 
Chesapeake  to  the  vicinity  of  the  Piscataways.  The  fugitives  had  taken  refuge  in  an 
old  fort  which  had  belonged  to  their  former  antagonists,  and  there  resolutely  defended 
themselves  against  the  Senecas,  who  still  pursued  them,  ravaging  without  much 
concern  the  lands  of  the  whites.  Some  of  the  colonists  were  actually  cut  off,  and,  as 
the  Susquehannas  had  in  the  olden  time  been  enemies,  and  were  now  apparently 
invading  the  colonies,  it  was  agreed  to  send  a  joint  Maryland  and  Virginia  force 
against  them.  On  the  25th  of  September,  1675,  the  Maryland  troops,  under  Major 
Truernan,  appeared  before  their  fort.  He  was  apparently  satisfied  with  their  protes 
tations  of  innocence,  but  being  joined  on  the  following  day  by  the  Virginians,  under 
Colonels  Washington  and  Mason,  under  the  strong  provocations  before  stated,  he 
caused  five  of  the  chiefs,  who  came  out  to  treat  with  them,  to  be  seized  and  bound. 
To  prove  their  friendship  they  showed  a  silver  medal  and  papers  given  them  by 
governors  of  Maryland,  but  in  spite  of  all  they  were  put  to  death.  Many  fell  in  the 
fight;  the  rest  evacuated  the  fort,  and  commenced  a  retreat  and  a  war  of  revenge; 
and  soon,  these  being  joined  by  other  tribes,  the  whole  border  was  deluged  in  blood. 
Bacon's  rebellion  in  Virginia  grew  out  of  this  act  of  treachery,  and  the  war  was 
finally  ended,  it  would  seem,  by  the  aid  of  the  Iroquois,  who,  joining  the  Maryland 
and  Virginia  army,  forced  the  surviving  Susquehannas  to  return  to  their  former 
post,  where  a  number  of  Iroquois  were  incorporated  with  them. 

The  Susquehannas  were  finally  exterminated  as  a  nation,  but  their  name  will 
be  perpetuated  by  their  noble  river,  which  is  a  more  enduring  memorial  than  the 
perishable  monuments  erected  by  man. 


• 

CHAPTER   VL 

PENNSYLVANIA  COLONIZED— THE  LENNI  LENAPE. 

. 

TRADITION  assigns  to  the  Lenni  Lenape  an  organization  anterior  to  that  of  most 
of  the  other  Indian  tribes.  Heckewelder  informs  us  that  they  came  from  the  West, 
and  that  from  their  ancient  traditions  it  is  gathered  that  they  crossed  the  Missis 
sippi  River  in  their  migration  to  the  East.  Authors  have  attempted  to  prove  that 
their  ola  walum  have  reference  to  a  very  ancient  migration  from  foreign  countries. 
But  these  are  merely  ordinary  pictographs,  denoting  a  simple  mode  of  ideographic 
communication  which  is  common  among  the  entire  Algonkin  family,  of  which  the 
Lenni  Lenape  assert  that  they  were  the  head. 

It  is  mentioned  that  after  crossing  the  Mississippi  River  they  were  opposed  by 
the  Allegans,  or  Allegewi,  who  occupied  the  principal  ranges  of  the  Allegheny 
Mountains.  At  this  epoch,  the  tradition  adds,  they  discovered  the  Iroquois,  their 
apparent  precursors,  towards  the  north,  who  became  their  allies  and  aided  them  in 
driving  the  Allegans  out  of  the  Ohio  Valley  towards  the  south.  The  vestiges  of 
tribal  strife  still  extant  in  that  valley  are  the  evidences  of  this  ancient  war.  If  the 
term  any  in  the  word  Allegheny  denotes  a  stream  or  river,  as  it  appears  to  do,  and 
if  the  river  has  prior  right  to  the  name  over  the  mountains,  then  it  may  be  said  that 
the  Youghioghany,  in  which  the  same  word  for  stream  is  employed,  is  also  a  term  of 
Allegewi  origin.  These  appear  to  be  the  only  words  of  that  language  which  have 
survived  the  lapse  of  time.1 

The  name  of  this  tribe  has  been  said  to  imply  "  original  men,"  but  the  orthography 
does  not  sustain  this  assertion.  Lenni  is  the  same  as  illini  in  the  Illinois,  and  innini 
in  the  Chippcwa,  the  consonants  /  and  n  and  the  vowels  o  and  t  being  interchange 
able  in  the  Algonkin.  Lenape  (ee)  is  in  the  same  language,  and,  under  the  same 
rule,  the  equivalent  of  inabi  and  iabi,  a  male.  The  true  meaning  i«  "  manly  men," 
— a  name  involving  a  harmless  boast.  There  is  no  tribal  name  in  the  Vesperic  group 
of  tribes  which  has  the  least  reference  to  their  origin.  The  Iroquois,  by  the  term 
ongwe  honwe,  also  declared  themselves  to  be  superior  men.  To  be  men  was,  sym 
bolically,  to  be  brave,  and  bravery  was  the  glory  to  which  the  red  men  all  aspired. 

We  must  rest  satisfied  with  the  Indian  traditions,  bare  as  they  are  of  details. 

1  The  philologist,  however,  will  perceive  the  analogy  which  exist*  between  the  term  any  and  the  inflec 
tions  anock  and  hannock,  meaning  river,  in  the  compound  words  SusqueAujmoci  and  RappaAonnoe&.  If, 
therefore,  part  of  the  Allegans  crossed  to  the  waters  of  the  Chesapeake,  and  were  driven  thence  towards  the 
aouth  by  the  Lenni  Lenape  and  Iroquois,  these  words,  originally  in  the  tribal  list,  would  seem  to  belong,  as  a 
point  of  Indian  history  of  suggestive  importance,  to  the  Susqnehannocks  and  to  the  Powhatanio  family,  both 
offshoots  from  the  mother  Algonkio. 
103 


EARLY  EUROPEAN  SETTLEMENTS. 

Even  this  much  is  an  important  contribution  to  their  ancient  history,  which  we 
should  carefully  cherish,  and  for  which  we  are  indebted  to  the  meritorious  labors  of 
a  pious  follower  of  Zinzendorf,  who  thought  far  more  of  saving  the  souls  of  this 
people  than  of  recording  their  history.  • — 

But  wherever  the  Lenape  originated,  and  whatever  were  the  details  of  the  history 
of  their  migration  from  the  Mississippi  eastward,  they  were  found  at  the  earliest 
dates  to  be  located  in  the  Valley  of  the  Delaware.  In  a  revised  map  published  at 
Amsterdam  in  1659  they  are  represented  as  occupying  that  valley  from  its  source  to 
its  mouth,  their  lands  extending  westward  to  the  Minqua,  or  Susquehannocks,  and  to 
the  sources  of  the  rivers  flowing  into  the  Delaware,  which  separate  them  from  the 
latter  tribe ;  and  eastward,  under  the  names  of  various  local  and  totemic  clans,  across 
the  entire  area  of  New  Jersey  to  the  Hudson.  The  Dutch,  who  entered  the  Hudson 
in  1009,  found  affiliated  tribes  of  their  stock  along  both  banks  of  that  river  to  near 
the  point  of  influx  of  the  Tawasentha.  When  they  extended  their  settlements  to 
the  waters  of  the  Delaware,  they  discovered  themselves  to  be  in  the  central  position 
of  the  original  stock.  The  fact  of  their  aboriginal  occupancy  was  known  to  the~~ 
Swedes,  who  first  entered  the  Delaware  River  in  1643.  The  events  attending  these 
colonial  extensions  into  the  domains  of  the  Delawares  furnish  no  incidents  of  history 
warranting  any  lengthy  detail  in  this  place.  European  colonization  opened  to  them 
a  commerce  in  the  skins  of  animals,  stimulating  them  to  unusual  exertions,  which, 
however,  exposed  them  to  the  perils  of  luxury  and  indulgence.  It  furnished  them 
with  the  new  and  superior  products  of  arts  and  manufactures,  which  at  once  took  the 
place  of  their  former  imperfect  implements  and  utensils  of  wood,  bone,  clay,  and 
flint.  It  taught  them  the  use  of  gunpowder,  the  firelock,  and  the  steel-trap,  by 
which  the  prowess  of  their  young  men  on  the  war-path  was  made  more  severe  and 
destructive,  and  the  species  of  fur-bearing  animals  were  more  speedily  annihilated. 
Depopulation,  which  had  long  previously  begun  to  undermine  the  prosperity  of  the 
Indian  tribes,  was  greatly  accelerated  by  the  advent  of  the  Europeans.  This  was  the 
position  of  affairs  when  William  Penn  landed  on  the  shores  of  the  Delaware  in 
1682.  The  idea  of  forming  a  colony  of  refuge  in  America  for  the  poor,  suffering, 
and  oppressed  people  of  some  parts  of  Europe  had  been  broached  at  an  early  day. 
The  Puritan  refugees  were  the  first,  in  1620,  to  develop  a  project  of  this  kind.  A 
similar  necessity  for  a  land  of  refuge  was  felt  by  the  Catholics,  who  emigrated  to 
Maryland  under  the  guidance  of  Lord  Baltimore  in  1634.  In  1682,  Penn  provided  n 
a  like  haven  of  safety  for  the  Quakers,  who  came  thither  professing  principles  of  I 
peace  and  love  towards  men  of  every  hue.  He  was  especially  desirous  to  protect  the 
Indian  race  and  to  treat  them  with  the  most  enlarged  philanthropy  and  charity.  In 
his  hands  civilization  was  rendered  mild  and  enticing.  Christianity,  as  taught  by 
those  who  understand  its  precepts,  has  ever  been  a  law  of  good  will  towards  all  man 
kind.  Penn  did  not  attempt  any  rude  interference  with  the  principles  and  practices 
of  the  natives.  Persuasion  and  example  were  his  only  weapons,  and  strict  justice  in 
all  transactions  with  them  was  his  cardinal  rule.  Time  was  deemed  to  be  necessary 
to  enable  the  principles  of  the  new  system  to  take  root  in  such  dark  and  bewildered 


HO  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

minds.  Penn  approached  the  natives  in  their  councils,  as  at  their  lodge-fires,  in  an 
open,  simple,  straightforward  manner,  which  gained  him  their  confidence  and  made 
them  receive  him  as  a  Friend  indeed. 

Perm's  famous  treaty  with  the  Indians  at  Shackamaxon,  on  the  northern  edge 
of  Philadelphia,  was  not  for  the  purchase  of  lands,  hut  to  the  effect  that  the  English 
man  and  the  Indian  should  respect  the  same  moral  law  and  he  alike  secure  in  their 
pursuits  and  their  possessions,  and  provided  that  every  difference  should  be  adjusted 
hy  a  tribunal  composed  of  an  equal  number  from  each  race.  Neither  oaths,  signa 
tures,  nor  seals  were  made  use  of  in  this  treaty,  and  no  written  record  of  it  exists ; 
but  it  was  sacredly  kept,  and  it  is  said  that  not  a  drop  of  Quaker  blood  was  ever  shed 
by  an  Indian.  This  was  in  some  measure  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  Delawares  had 
been  disarmed  and  conquered  by  the  Iroquois,  whose  vengeance  would  have  been 
visited  upon  them  had  they  dared  to  lift  the  hatchet  against  their  English  allies. 
By  a  series  of  unjust  measures  Perm's  sons  gradually  alienated  the  Indians,  and,  after 
a  peace  of  seventy  years'  duration,  produced  a  disastrous  rupture. 

At  the  period  of  settlement  there  were  three  principal  totemic  divisions  of  the 
Len^i  Lenapes,  known  as  the  Turtle,  the  Turkey,  and  the  Wolf  tribes.  The  Monseys 
or  Wolf  tribes,  the  most  active  and  warlike  of  them  all,  occupied  the  mountainous 
country  between  the  Kittatinny  Mountains  and  the  sources  of  the  Susquehanna  and 
Delaware  Rivers,  kindling  their  council-fire  at  the  Minisink  Flats  on  the  Delaware, 
above  the  Water  Gap.  The  tribes  included  the  Assanpink  or  Stony  Creek  Indians ; 
the  Rankokas ;  the  Andastes,  at  Christiana  Creek,  near  Wilmington ;  the  Nesham- 
inies,  in  Bucks  County ;  the  Shackamaxons,  at  Kensington ;  the  Mantas,  or  Frogs, 
near  Burlington ;  the  Tuteloes  and  Nanticokes,  in  Maryland  and  Virginia  (the  latter 
afterwards  moved  up  the  Susquehanna)  ;  the  Monseys,  near  the  Forks  of  the  Dela 
ware;  the  Mandes  and  Narriticongs,  near  the  Raritan;  the  Capitanasses  and  Gacheos, 
the  Monseys,  and  the  Pomptons,  in  New  Jersey.  A  few  Mingoes  were  scattered 
among  these.  The  Shawnees  had  a  village  at  the  Shawnee  Flats,  below  Wilkes- 
barre,  on  the  west  side  of  the  Susquehanna. 


CHAPTER    VII. 

SETTLEMENT  OP  THE  CAROLINAS. 

SOUTH  CAUOLINA  was  occupied  in  1670,  ten  years  before  Pennsylvania.  The 
settlement  of  North  Carolina  dates  from  the  year  1GG4.  Before  bringing  to  a  close 
our  narrative  of  the  events  of  the  seventeenth  century,  it  will  be  important  to  take 
a  cursory  glance  at  the  families  of  Indian  tribes  located  along  the  sea-coast  and  in 
the  interior  of  the  Carolinas.  The  Indians  informed  the  Spaniards  who  visited 
their  shores  early  in  the  sixteenth  century  that  the  name  of  the  country  was  Chicora, 
whence  their  visitors  called  them  Chicorcans,  and  the  race  is  supposed  to  IHJ  identical 
with  the  people  now  known  as  Corees,  Catawbas,  etc.  Of  the  ancient  cxialence  of 
the  elements  of  such  a  group  we  have,  however,  but  little  evidence  beyond  their 
geographical  names.  We  have  already  presented  evidence  tending  to  show  that  the 
Catawbas  proper  were  of  the  Iroquois-Huron  stock,  and  that  they  sprang  from  the 
relics  of  the  once  famous  Neuter  Nation  (Erics)  of  Canada.  The  most  important 
of  the  tribes  who  resided  in  South  Carolina  at  the  time  of  its  settlement  were  the 
Catawbas  and  the  Cherokees.  The  Catawbas  could  muster  nearly  fifteen  hundred 
warriors,  indicating  a  population  of  about  seven  thousand  five  hundred  souls.  They 
were  a  fierce,  subtle,  warlike,  and  brave  people,  and  at  one  time  either  comprised  or 
ruled  over  twenty-eight  subordinate  tribes, — the  Westoes,  Stonocs,  Coosaws,  Sewees, 
Yamassees,  Santecs,  Congarces,  etc.  The  Cherokees  occupied  the  upper  parts  of 
the  State,  extending  their  possessions  to  the  head-waters  of  the  Savannah,  Coosaw- 
hatchic,  Alabama,  Tennessee,  and  Cumberland. 

North  Carolina  was  included  in  the  general  but  undefined  area  of  Virginia, 
which  was  first  discovered  by  the  parties  sent  out  under  the  grant  made  to  Raleigh 
in  1586,  and  may  at  an  earlier  period  have  contained  some  portions  of  the  adven 
turous  population  of  Southern  Virginia,  who,  it  is  conjectured,  might  have  retired 
thither  after  its  successful  colonization.  But  the  Indian  residents  of  the  Carolinas 
appear  to  have  been  regarded  as  little  more  than  encumbrances  upon  the  land,  to  be 
evicted  as  easily  and  as  speedily  as  possible.  The  earliest  accounts  make  scarcely  any 
mention  of  them,  a  fact  which  may  bo^rn  some  measure  attributed  to  the  circumstance 
that  in  those  historical  sketches  published  in  London  with  the  view  of  directing 
attention  to  emigration,  the  inducements  for  it  would  not  have  been  enhanced  by  the 
introduction  of  such  a  topic.  The  age  of  philanthropy  and  of  interest  in  aboriginal 
or  savage  tribes  in  any  part  of  the  globe  had  hardly  yet  arrived.  At  any  rate,  very 
little  can  be  gleaned  from  the  details  of  the  political  and  commercial  plans  of 
colonization  of  the  period. 

The  Carolina  tribes  eagerly  availed  themselves  of  the  conveniences,  luxuries,  and 

111 


THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

indulgences  introduced  from  Europe,  and  in  an  almost  incredibly  short  time  the 
little  clans  and  chieftainships  which  stretched  along  the  shores  became  extinct 

Dr.  Hewit,  an  early  historian,  remarks  that  attempts  were  made  to  shield  them 
against  unjust  encroachments  and  to  protect  their  rights.1  He  thus  writes :  "  Plans 
of  lenity  were,  with  respect  to  those  Indian  tribes,  likewise  adopted  by  government, 
and  every  possible  precaution  was  taken  to  guard  them  against  oppression  and  pre 
vent  any  rupture  with  them.  Experience  has  shown  that  rigorous  measures,  such  as 
humbling  them  by  force  of  arms,  were  not  only  very  expensive  and  bloody,  but  dis 
agreeable  to  a  humane  and  generous  nation,  and  seldom  accompanied  with  any  good 
effects.  Such  ill  treatment  rendered  the  savages  cruel,  suspicious,  and  distrustful, 
and  prepared  them  for  renewing  hostilities  by  keeping  alive  their  ferocious  and 
warlike  spirit.  Their  extirpation,  even  though  it  could  easily  be  completed,  would 
be  a  cruel  act,  and  all  the  while  the  growth  and  prosperity  of  the  settlements  would 
be  much  retarded  by  the  attempt.  Whereas,  by  treating  Indians  with  gentleness 
and  humanity,  it  was  thought  they  would  by  degrees  lose  their  savage  spirit  and 
become  more  harmless  and  civilized.  It  was  hoped  that  by  establishing  a  fair  and 
free  trade  with  them  their  rude  temper  would  in  time  be  softened,  their  manners 
altered,  and  their  wants  increased,  and  instead  of  implacable  enemies,  ever  bent  on 
destruction,  they  might  be  rendered  good  allies,  both  useful  and  beneficial  to  the 
trade  of  the  nation. 

"  It  has  been  remarked  that  those  Indians  on  the  continent  of  America,  who 
were,  at  the  time  of  its  discovery,  a  numerous  and  formidable  people,  have  since  that 
period  been  constantly  decreasing  and  melting  away  like  snow  upon  the  mountains. 
For  this  rapid  depopulation  many  reasons  have  been  assigned.  It  is  well  known  that 
population  everywhere  keeps  pace  with  the  means  of  subsistence.  Even  vegetables 
spring  and  grow  in  proportion  to  the  richness  of  the  soil  in  which  they  are  planted, 
and  to  the  supplies  they  receive  from  the  nourishing  rains  and  dews  of  heaven ; 
animals  flourish  or  decay  according  as  the  means  of  subsistence  abound  or  fail ;  and, 
as  all  mankind  partake  of  the  nature  of  both,  they  also  multiply  or  decrease  as  they 
are  fed,  or  have  provision  in  plenty,  luxury  excluded.  The  Indians,  being  driven 
from  their  possessions  near  the  sea,  as  the  settlements  multiplied,  were  robbed  of 
many  necessaries  of  life,  particularly  of  oysters,  crabs,  and  fish,  with  which  the 
maritime  parts  furnished  them  in  great  abundance,  and  on  which  they  must  have 
considerably  subsisted,  as  is  apparent  from  a  view  of  their  camps  still  remaining 
near  the  sea-shore.  The  women  are  not  only  much  disregarded  and  despised,  but 
also  naturally  less  prolific  among  rude  than  polished  nations.  The  men  being  often 
abroad,  at  hunting  or  war,  agriculture,  which  is  the  chitf  means  of  subsistence 
among  a  civilized  people,  is  entirely  neglected  by  them,  and  looked  upon  as  an 
occupation  worthy  only  of  women  or  slaves.  That  abstinence  and  fatigue  which  the 
men  endure  in  their  distant  excursions,  and  that  gluttony  and  voraciousness  in  which 

1  "  Historical  Account  of  the  Rise  and  Progress  of  the  Colonies  of  South  Carolina  and  Georgia."  Loo- 
don,  1776.— Carroll's  "South  Carolina  Collection*,"  1836. 


EARLY  EUROPEAN  SETTLEMENTS.  113 

they  indulge  themselves  in  the  times  of  plenty,  are  equally  hurtful  to  the  constitution, 
and  productive  of  diseases  of  different  kinds.  Now  that  their  territories  are  circum 
scribed  by  narrower  bounds,  the  means  of  subsistence,  derived  even  from  game,  is 
less  plentiful.  Indeed,  scanty  and  limited  are  the  provisions  they  raise  by  planting, 
even  in  the  best  seasons ;  but  in  case  of  a  failure  of  their  crops,  or  of  their  fields 
being  destroyed  by  enemies,  they  perish  in  numbers  by  famine.  Their  natural 
passion  for  war  the  first  European  settlers  soon  discovered,  and  therefore  turned  the 
fury  of  one  tribe  against  another  with  a  view  to  save  themselves.  When  engaged  in 
hostilities,  they  always  fought  not  so  much  to  humble  and  conquer  as  to  exterminate 
and  destroy.  The  British,  French,  and  Spanish  nations  having  planted  colonies 
in  their  neighborhood,  a  rivalship  for  power  over  them  took  place,  and  each  nation, 
having  its  allies  among  the  savages,  was  zealous  and  indefatigable  in  instigating  them 
against  the  allies  of  its  neighbor.  Hence  a  series  of  bloody  and  destructive  wars  has 
been  carried  on  among  these  rude  tribes  with  all  the  rage  and  rancor  of  implacable 
enemies. 

"  But  famine  and  war,  however  destructive,  were  not  the  only  causes  of  their 
rapid  decay.  The  smallpox,  having  broken  out  among  them,  proved  exceedingly 
fatal,  both  on  account  of  the  contagious  nature  of  the  distemper,  and  their  harsh 
and  injudicious  attempts  to  cure  it  by  plunging  themselves  into  cold  rivers  during 
the  most  violent  stages  of  the  disorder.  The  pestilence  broke  out  among  some 
nations,  particularly  among  the  Pemblicos  in  North  Carolina,  and  almost  swept 
away  the  whole  tribe.  The  practice  of  entrapping  them,  which  was  encouraged  by 
the  first  settlers  in  Carolina,  and  selling  them  for  slaves  to  the  West  India  planters, 
helped  greatly  to  thin  their  nations.  But  of  all  other  causes,  the  introduction  of 
spirituous  liquors  among  them,  for  which  they  discovered  an  amazing  fondness,  has 
proved  the  most  destructive.  Excess  and  intemperance  not  only  undermined  their 
constitutions,  but  also  created  many  quarrels,  and  subjected  them  to  a  numerous  list 
of  fatal  diseases  to  which  in  former  times  they  were  perfect  strangers.  Besides, 
those  Europeans  engaged  in  commercial  business  with  them,  generally  speaking, 
have  been  so  far  from  reforming  them  by  examples  of  virtue  and  purity  of  manners, 
that  they  rather  served  to  corrupt  their  morals  and  render  them  more  treacherous, 
distrustful,  base,  and  debauched  than  they  were  before  this  intercourse  commenced. 
In  short,  European  avarice  and  ambition  have  not  only  debased  the  original  nature 
and  stern  virtue  of  that  savage  race,  so  that  those  few  Indians  that  now  remain 
have  lost  in  a  great  measure  their  primitive  character,  but  European  vice  and  Eu 
ropean  diseases,  the  consequences  of  vice,  have  exterminated  this  people,  insomuch 
that  many  nations  formerly  populous  are  totally  extinct,  and  their  names  entirely 
forgotten." 

The  South  Carolina  tribes  have  left  but  few  traces  or  monuments  of  their  exist 
ence  except  the  heaps  of  oyster-shells  which  are  still  observable  along  the  alluvial 
margins  of  the  river.-?.  From  their  ancient  places  of  sepulture  the  remains  of  stone 
pipes,  a  mi  ill 'is,  and  other  relics  of  the  arts  peculiar  to  a  hunter  age  are  from  time  to 
time  disinterred.  There  are  some  mounds  still  existing  on  the  waters  of  the  Coosaw- 

II— 15 


114  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

hatchie,  as  at  Pocotaligo,  and  on  some  other  streams,  which  have  been  but  little 
examined,  and  in  some  instances  where  the  mounds  and  shell-heaps  have  been  prop 
erly  explored  the  researches  have  developed  nothing  of  a  new  character.  On  the 
alluvial  banks  of  the  Congaree,  Mr.  Howe  has  discovered  some  curious  evidences  of 
ancient  metallurgic  operations  which  were  apparently  carried  on  by  the  ancient 
Indians,  who  also  appear  to  have  deposited  the  bones  and  ashes  of  their  dead  in 
vases.  Mr.  Lawson,  in  his  "  Travels"  (1700),  notices  some  of  the  rites,  manners,  and 
opinions  common  to  the  Santees  and  other  bands  which  convince  us  that  their  beliefs 
and  superstitions  were  similar  to  those  of  the  more  advanced  tribes.  We  are  indebted 
to  the  same  gentleman,  also,  for  our  most  complete  vocabulary  of  their  languages. 
Their  history,  however,  gives  no  evidence  that  they  differed  from  the  leading  Vesperic 
groups,  except  in  their  names,  and  in  some  peculiarities  of  their  dialect,  which  may 
be  more  readily  observed  in  the  geographical  terminology. 

When  North  Carolina  was  first  settled  by  the  whites  there  were  many  small 
tribes  located  along  the  coasts,  who  numbered  collectively  ten  thousand  souls.  The 
Tuscaroras  principally  occupied  the  valley  of  the  Neuse,  extending  from  the  sea  to 
the  mountains.  The  unfortunate  attempt  they  made  at  a  subsequent  period  to  anni 
hilate  the  colony  by  a  simultaneous  rising  forms  one  of  the  most  thrilling  chapters 
in  North  Carolina  history.  This  bold,  cruel,  and  partly  unsuccessful  movement 
appears  to  have  been  a  renewal  of  the  project  originated  by  Opechancanough,  of 
Virginia,  in  1622 ;  and  one  cannot  help  feeling  that  it  was  but  a  rehearsal  of  the 
tragedy  enacted  in  1590,  of  which  the  unfortunate  colonists  left  at  Cape  Hatteras 
were  the  victims, — the  proximity  of  the  Tuscaroras  to  that  location  giving  additional 
countenance  to  the  suggestion.  Cusic,  in  his  traditional  sketches  of  the  Iroquois, 
which  indicate  his  profound  ignorance  of  chronology,  appears  to  allude  to  this,  or 
possibly  to  some  prior  event,  which  occurred  in  the  ante-historical  period  of  America, 
wherein  a  Manteo  and  his  English  companions,  or  a  Madoc  and  his  Cambrian  fol 
lowers,  may  be  symbolized. 

The  archaeological  remains  on  the  late  Mr.  Calhoun's  plantation,  at  Fort  Hill,  in 
Pendleton  County,  and  also  those  of  Fort  Kienuka,  attest  the  power  of  the  ancient 
Iroquois  in  this  quarter,  and  are  yet  probably  in  a  condition  to  admit  of  satisfactory 
examination. 


• 


PERIOD   III. 

WAS  OF  EACES-EAELY  COLONIAL  HISTOEY. 


CHAPTER    T. 

TIIK   1'KQIIOT  TRIBE  AND  THE    PEQUOT  WAR— DESTRUCTION  OP  FORT  MYSTIC- 
FLIGHT  AND  EXTINCTION  OF  THE  TRIBE. 

VIRGINIA,  the  mother  of  the  English  colonies  in  the  United  States,  was  the  first 
to  suffer  from  the  efforts  of  the  natives  to  root  out  and  destroy  the  infant  European 
settlements.  The  tragic  fate  of  the  first  colony  planted  within  her  borders,  and  the 
wholesale  massacre  carried  into  such  terrible  effect  by  Opechancanough  on  the  22d 
of  March,  1G22,  have  been  already  related.  While  the  immediate  causes  of  the 
almost  constant  wars  between  the  red  and  the  white  race,  from  the  earliest  down  to 
that  of  Tecumsch,  were  varied  in  their  character,  yet  their  underlying  motive  has 
undoubtedly  been  the  antagonism  natural  to  people  differing  so  radically  in  character 
and  civilization,  and  the  not  unreasonable  fear  of  the  Indian  of  the  disastrous  result 
to  him  and  his  race  likely  to  flow  from  the  superiority  of  the  white  man. 

The  name  of  the  Pequot  tribe,  which  appears  to  mean  a  wooden  arrow,  reveals 
its  Algonkin  origin.  In  a  map  published  at  Amsterdam  in  1059  these  Indians  are 
called  Pequatoas,  but  on  what  account,  or  when  the  title  was  conferred  upon  them,  is 
unknown.  Most  of  the  subdivisions  of  our  aboriginal  tribes  have  trivial  names 
assigned  them,  on  account  of  some  event,  important  or  otherwise,  the  history  of  which 
has  not  been  transmitted  to  us  by  tradition.  It  is  certain,  from  both  their  language 
and  traditions,  that  the  Lenape  Algonkins,  after  crossing  the  Hudson  towards  the 
northeast,  divided  into  a  multiplicity  of  clans  and  tribes.  In  this  ancient  migration 
the  Wolf  totem,  or  Mohicans,  were  the  first  to  cross  the  Hudson,  and  they  appear  to 
have  regarded  its  valley,  from  the  sea  to  the  present  site  of  Albany,  as  their  rightful 
domain.  The  Iroquois  penetrated  into  it  from  the  north,  and  subsequently  continued 
their  conquests  down  the  river. 

The  Mohican  language  and  blood  still  constituted  a  tie  of  affiliation,  but  each 
class  and  sept  either  adopted  some  distinctive  appellation  themselves  or  received  one 
from  their  neighbors.  Thus,  the  tribe  whose  totem  included  the  whirlpool  of  Hell- 
Gate  called  themselves  Manhattans ;  the  Long  Island  Indians,  whose  shores  abounded 
in  the  prized  sea-shells  of  which  wampum  is  made,  styled  themselves,  or  were  named 

lift 


116  TOE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

by  others,  Metoacs ;  those  living  near  the  stone  cliffs  of  Westchester  were  called 
Singsings,  or  Ossining;  and  those  residing  on  the  wide  expanse  of  the  Hudson  below 
the  Highlands,  Tappensees.  The  early  colonists,  finding  the  tribes  of  this  valley  to 
be  of  one  species  and  lineage,  called  them  Mohikander,  a  compound  formed  from  the 
Mohican  and  Belgic  languages.  The  clans  located  nearest  to  Albany  retained  the 
name  of  Mohicans,  and  when  they  were  eventually  driven  over  the  Hoosic  and 
Taconic  ranges  into  the  valley  of  the  Housatonic  they  carried  with  them  their 
primitive  appellation.  That  the  Pequots,  who  once  held  possession  of  the  territory 
along  the  East  River  and  on  the  Connecticut  shores,  also  bore  the  Mohican  name  is 
very  probable,  from  the  recurrence  of  Uncas  to  the  parent  term  when  he  became 
involved  in  a  political  feud  with  Sassacus.  At  what  time  this  dissension  commenced 
is  unknown.  The  first  intimation  of  it  dates  from  the  era  of  the  primary  settlement 
of  Connecticut  in  1633.  The  colonists  were  dispersed  over  a  wide  surface,  unpro 
tected,  and  exposed  to  the  caprices  as  well  as  to  the  incursions  of  the  Indians.  The 
oldest  settlement  had  been  located  but  a  few  years  when  the  inhabitants  found  that  a 
contest  was  being  waged  for  the  Indian  sovereignty  l>etween  Uncas  and  Sassacus. 

Uncas  held  possession  of  a  beautiful  point  of  land,  now  called  Norwich,  at  the 
head  of  the  river  Peqaot  (now  the  Thames),  and  it  is  probable  that  he  had  but 
recently  segregated  his  tribe  from  the  Pequots.  His  comprehensive  mind  immediately 
discerned  the  advantages  that  would  result  to  his  cause  from  an  alliance  with  the 
Connecticut  settlers,  and  it  was  as  clearly  the  policy  of  the  latter  to  form  such  an 
alliance.  Their  very  safety  depended  on  it,  and  wisdom  was  evinced  in  their  choice. 
Uucas  became  the  protector  of  the  colonists ;  his  scouts  watched  over  the  infant  set 
tlement,  and  not  only  reported  the  advance  of  hostile  parties,  but  hastened  to  repel 
them.  This  alliance  was  never  broken  by  either  white  or  red  man,  and  affords  one 
of  the  most  complete  and  satisfactory  evidences  to  be  found  in  history  of  the  bene 
ficial  effects  produced  on  Indian  character  by  unwavering  justice  and  uniform  kind 
ness  and  good  will.  Half  a  century  later  it  was  not  in  the  power  of  Penn,  with 
equally  benevolent  views,  to  maintain  the  Delawares  in  their  position ;  yet  through 
every  change  in  their  affairs  the  tribe  of  Uncas  was  protected  and  cherished  by  the 
people  and  by  the  authority  of  the  State  of  Connecticut.  Even  after  the  venerated 
chief  had  passed  from  the  stage  of  life,  his  successor  and  family  were  regarded  with 
kind  interest,  and  a  monument  has  been  erected  to  mark  the  resting-place  of  the 
great  aboriginal  sage  of  Norwich.  . 

At  the  time  we  have  indicated,  1637,  the  Pequots  had  the  prestige  of  being  a 
powerful  and  warlike  people.  They  had  escaped  the  great  pestilence  which  had 
desolated  the  Massachusetts  coast  about  the  year  1617,  could  bring  six  hum  1ml 
fighting-men  into  the  field,  and  probably  numbered  a  population  of  about  three 
thousand  souls.  They  were  expert  bowmen,  and  possessed  sixteen  guns  purchased 
from  the  traders.  The  military  strength  of  Connecticut  was  then  estimated  at  two 
hundred  men.  If  the  Pequots  had  obtained  the  ascendency,  the  question  of  the  very 
existence  of  the  colony  would  have  been  settled  forever. 

John  Mason,  the  man  selected  to  conduct  this  war,  was  a  veteran  soldier,  who, 


WAR   OF  RACES— EARLY  COLONIAL  HISTORY.  117 

with  Miles  Stamlish  and  Underbill,  had  learned  the  art.  of  war  in  the  Low  Countries 
under  that  renowned  military  tactician,  William,  Prince  of  Orange.  The  infant 
colonies  required  men  possessing  his  decision  of  character  and  unflinching  nerve  to 
baffle  the  wiles  of  their  savage  enemies.  It  was  evident  that  the  Pequots  meant  to 
annihilate  the  colonists.  Recent  and  most  shocking  murders  having  been  perpetrated 
in  the  settlements,  energetic  and  prompt  action  was  necessary  to  enable  the  colony 
to  maintain  its  ground.  To  begin  the  war  Mason  could  muster  but  ninety  men, 
which  force  is  stated  to  have  been  half  the  militia  of  the  colony.  Uncas  joined  him 
with  seventy  Mohicans,  who  were  chiefly  useful  as  guides  and  scouts.  Tbe  auxiliaries 
promised  by  the  Plymouth  colony  and  from  other  quarters  were  slow  in  making  their 
appearance. 

Mason,  however,  pushed  forward  with  energy,  as  in  his  opinion  their  operations 
must  be  conducted  with  vigor,  delay  only  furnishing  Sa.ssacus  an  opportunity  to 
mature  his  plans.  With  the  hope  that  the  expected  reinforcements  would  arrive  in 
season  to  be  of  service,  on  the  10th  of  May  he  embarked  his  force  at  Hartford  in 
three  small  vessels,  and,  dropping  down  the  Connecticut  River  to  Fort  Saybrook, 
was  there  joined  by  Underbill,  his  second  in  command.  After  coasting  along  the 
shore  to  the  entrance  of  Narragansett  Bay,  he  landed  in  the  vicinity  of  the  village 
ruled  by  Canonicus,  whose  permission  he  obtained  to  march  across  his  territory  and 
attack  the  Pequots.  The  old  chief  thought  his  force  too  small  for  such  a  purpose, 
but,  though  he  evidently  did  not  expect  much  from  the  auxiliary  Mohicans,  he  yet 
allowed  two  hundred  of  his  men,  under  his  son  Miantonomo,  to  accompany  them, 
without,  however,  engaging  to  take  an  active  part.  The  Pequots  had  two  forts,  the 
principal  of  which,  located  on  the  Mystic  River,  was  occupied  by  Sassacus  in  person. 
A  march  of  eighteen  or  twenty  miles  through  the  forest  brought  Mason  to  a  fort  of 
the  Niantics,  on  the  borders  of  the  Peqnot  territory.  These  people  were  tributaries 
and  covert  allies  of  the  Pequots.  The  chief  treated  Mason  haughtily,  and  would  not 
allow  him  to  enter  the  fort.  Fearing  that  intelligence  of  his  arrival  might  be  trans 
mitted  by  runners  during  the  night,  Mason  encamped  his  men  around  the  fort,  giving 
them  strict  orders  to  intercept  every  person  who  attempted  to  leave  it. 

The  following  morning  several  of  Miantonomo's  men  tendered  their  services  aa 
auxiliaries,  making  many  professions  of  their  anxiety  to  aid  in  carrying  on  the  war. 
The  number  of  Indians  who  now  accompanied  Mason  being  five  hundred,  they  made 
a  great  display,  but  not  much  dependence  could  be  placed  upon  their  conduct  on  the 
battle-field,  notwithstanding  their  lavish  professions.  Although  Mason  placed  no 
reliance  on  them,  he  was  willing  to  avail  himself  of  the  effect  their  appearance  would 
produce  on  the  enemy.  Uncas,  when  questioned  as  to  how  many  of  his  Indian  allies 
•would  run  away  when  the  battle  commenced,  answered,  "  Every  one  but  myself;" 
and  such  proved  to  be  the  result. 

After  a  tedious  march  of  twelve  miles  from  the  Niantic  borders  the  army  arrived 
at  Pawcatuck  Ford  (now  Stonington),  weary,  hungry,  and  foot-sore.  Resting  them 
selves  there  for  some  time,  they  continued  their  march  with  Uncas  and  Wequa,  a 
recreant  Pequot,  for  their  guides,  sometimes  passing  through  corn-fields.  Warm 


118  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

weather  having  set  in  unusually  early,  these  marches,  conjoined  with  the  scarcity 
of  food,  were  very  irksome  to  men  unaccustomed  to  the  toiL  Yet  they  pressed  on 
energetically,  and  one  hour  after  midnight  encamped  on  the  head-waters  of  the 
Mystic  River.  They  had  now  been  two  days  on  the  march.  Their  guides  informed 
them  that  the  Pequote  held  two  strong  forts  in  the  vicinity,  but  four  or  five  miles 
asunder.  Although  Mason  had  resolved  to  make  simultaneous  attacks  on  both  forte, 
the  fatigues  and  sufferings  endured  by  the  men  while  threading  the  mazes  of  the 
forest  without  provisions  or  tents,  and  exposed  to  every  inconvenience,  induced  him 
to  concentrate  his  efforts  on  the  nearest  position,  within  the  present  bounds  of  Groton. 
They  reposed  but  a  short  time,  and  then  took  up  their  line  of  march,  arriving  before 
the  fort,  which  was  distant  two  miles,  about  two  hours  before  daybreak  (May  26, 
1637).  The  moon  was  shining  brightly  when  they  reached  the  foot  of  the  eminence 
on  which  the  fort  was  situated,  and  by  this  time  their  boastful  red  allies  had  fallen  in 
the  rear,  quaking  at  the  very  name  of  PequoL 

The  walls  of  the  fortification  enclosed  one  or  two  acres  of  ground,  and  consisted 
of  trunks  of  trees,  cut  in  lengths  of  twelve  feet,  sunk  three  feet  deep  in  the  ground, 
and  embanked  with  earth.  These  palisades  were  placed  so  far  apart  that  missiles 
could  be  discharged  through  the  interstices,  yet  not  so  much  so  as  to  admit  a  man. 
Twelve  small  gates  or  sally-ports,  placed  at  opposite  ends,  were  closed  with  trees  and 
brush.  The  tops  of  the  palisades  were  bound  together  with  withes,  and  within,  on  a 
level  esplanade,  were  about  seventy  lodges,  constructed  of  thick  matting  covering  a 
light  frame-work.  These  lodges,  arranged  in  parallel  rows,  were  surrounded  by  a 
circular  line  of  lodges  next  to  the  palisades.  Mason  had  approached  within  a  rod 
of  the  northeast  sally-j>ort  without  arousing  suspicion,  when  he  heard  a  dog  bark 
within  the  fort.  Instantly  an  Indian  cried  out,  "  Owanux !  Owanux !"  (English 
men  !  Englishmen !)  which  brought  the  Pequots  to  their  feet,  some  of  whom  were 
thought  to  be  laboring  under  the  effects  of  a  recent  revel.  Mason,  removing  the 
obstacles,  entered  the  fort  at  one  end  with  sixteen  followers,  while  Underbill  did 
the  same  at  the  opposite  sally-port,  before  the  Pequots  had  time  to  opi>ose  them. 
•Surprised  and  confused,  they  ran  about  foaming  with  rage.  The  fight  became  des 
perate,  the  superiority  of  fire-arms  and  swords  over  arrows  and  clubs  being  signally 
demonstrated.  Many  of  the  Indians  took  shelter  in  the  wigwams,  covering  them- 
M-lves  with  the  thick  mats,  from  which  it  was  impossible  to  dislodge  them.  Wearied 
with  pursuing  them,  Mason  at  length  exclaimed,  "  We  must  burn  them."  Suiting 
(lie  action  to  the  word,  he  applied  a  brand  to  the  windward  side  of  the  lodges,  and 
Underbill  immediately  followed  his  example.  The  fire  spread  with  great  rapidity 
through  the  combustible  materials,  soon  filling  the  whole  area  with  roaring  flames. 
The  living  and  the  dead  together  were  roasted  in  heaps.  The  English,  being  them 
selves  expelled  by  the  furious  flames,  formed  a  circle  outside  the  palisades  to  prevent 
any  of. the  enemy  from  effecting  their  escape.  Their  Indian  auxiliaries,  having 
recovered  their  courage,  now  came  up  and  completed  the  work.  Forty  of  the 
Pequots,  who  attempted  to  scale  the  palisades,  were  shot  as  they  emerged  from  their 
flaming  prison.  In  one  hour  about  six  hundred  men,  women,  and  children  perished. 


WAR   OF  RACKS— EARLY  COLONIAL   HISTORY.  \\§ 

Though  the  Pequots  had  with  dreadful  cruelty  massacred  the  unsuspecting  Old- 
ham,  and  Sleeping-Stone  and  his  companions,  though  they  had  invaded  the  sanctity 
of  dearly-loved  homes  with  the  fury  of  the  tiger  and  the  hyena,  yet  this  was  a 
dreadful  retribution,  the  severity  of  which  could  not  have  hecn  premeditated. 
Having  indicted  this  terrible  blow  uj>on  the  Pequot8,"Mteon  deemed  his  position  to 
1x3  a  perilous  one.  He  anticipated  the  sjteedy  vengeance  of  SassaCus,  who  was  but  a 
few  miles  distant,  at  the  upi>er  fort,  and  many  of  his  men  were  wounded,  although 
but  two  had  been  killed  in  the  conflict.  It  was  necessary  to  carry  the  wounded  on 
litters,  and  the  soldiers  were  unprovided  with  either  food  or  ammunition.  In  this 
emergency  not  a  moment  was  lost  in  returning  to  the  vessels,  which  had  sailed  round 
to  the  neighboring  port  of  Pequot  Harbor,  and  all  sj>ecd  was  made  towards  the 
Connecticut. 

The  capture  and  burning  of  the  Pequot  fort  on  the  Mystic  exercised  a  controlling 
influence  on  the  future  prosecution  of  the  war.  It  was  a  blow  more  terrible  even 
than  at  first  appeared.  The  night  previous  to  the  attack  the  jiost  had  l>cen  reinforced 
by  one  hundred  and  fifty  warriors  from  the  upper  fort,  as  Sassacus  was  conscious  of 
the  perils  of  this  jx>sition.  More  than  half  of  his  available  force  had  certainly  l>eeh 
destroyed,  and  the  warriors  he  had  despatched  from  his  own  fortification  to  reinforce 
the  other  had  so  diminished  his  strength  that  he  did  not  deem  himself  able  to  sustain 
another  attack.  The  war  had  now  assumed  the  acme  of  bitterness  on  both  sides. 
Spring,  the  season  of  planting,  was  passing  away,  and,  though  food  was  as  scarce  with 
the  Indians  as  with  the  English,  not  a  grain  of  corn  could  be  planted  in  the  Con 
necticut  Valley,  so  great  was  the  danger  of  being  pierced  by  a  Pequot  arrow.  With 
the  English  it  was  a  struggle  for  existence,  and  the  name  of  Pequot  was  to  them 
identified  with  that  of  fiend.  Delay  would  only  enhance  the  danger  of  the  whites, 
while  the  situation  of  the  Pequots  was  equally  perilous. 

Sassacus,  realizing  his  hazardous  position,  determined  to  abandon  his  country  and 
fly  westward.  Although  the  Mohawks  had  been  his  most  dreaded  enemies  for  untold 
years,  he  hoped  to  find  some  friendly  shelter  in  the  small  unoccupied  valleys  of  the 
tributaries  to  the  Hudson,  or  among  the  western  affluents  of  the  Mohawk.  With  the 
energy  of  a  man  whose  necessities  are  pressing,  he  resolved  to  throw  himself  on  the 
mercy  of  his  Indian  foes,  and  fly  immediately.  Collecting  his  people,  he  crossed  the 
Connecticut,  on  his  passage  killing  three  Englishmen  who  were  found  descending  the 
river  on  their  way  to  Fort  Saybrook. 

The  capture  of  Fort  Mystic  occurred  on  the  26th  of  May,  and  the  loth  of  the 
following  June  was  observed  by  the  colonists  as  a  day  of  thanksgiving  for  the  vic 
tory.  About  a  fortnight  after  the  return  of  the  victors  to  their  homes,  one  hundred 
•  and  twenty  men,  under  Captain  Stoughton,  landed  at  Pequot  Harbor  to  prosecute  the 
war,  and  on  the  2Gth  of  June  Mason  descended  the  river  with  forty  men  to  join 
him.  The  allies  having  resolved  to  pursue  Sassacus,  Uncas  accompanied  them  with 
an  effective  force  of  Mohicans,  this -species  of  warfare  requiring  the  exercise  of  that 
peculiar  skill  in  following  a  trail,  for  which  the  minute  observation  and  knowledge 
of  Indian  habits  have  so  admirably  adapted  the  aborigines. 


120  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Sassacus,  being  encumbered  with  a  large  body  of  women,  children,  and  invalids, 
marched  slowly,  and  kept  near  the  open  coast,  in  order  to  avail  himself  of  the  abun 
dant  supply  of  shell-fish  to  be  found  on  these  shores.  The  allies,  while  pursuing  the 
fugitives,  sometimes  came  to  localities  where  clams  had  been  dug  up.  The  duty  of 
scouting  along  these  shores  being  committed  to  Uncas  and  his  men,  they  captured  a 
Pequot  sachem,  who  was  beheaded  at  a  place  now  called  Guilford  Harbor,  and  his 
head  placed  in  the  forks  of  an  oak-tree.  From  this  circumstance  a  promontory  in 
the  vicinity  received  the  name  of  Sachem's  Head. 

After  passing  the  Quinnipiak  River,  now  the  site  of  New  Haven,  they  espied  a 
large  body  of  Pequots,  and  pursued  them.  From  an  eminence  they  beheld  in  the 
distance  a  cluster  of  wigwams,  situated  between  the  foot  of  a  hill  and  a  swamp,  within 
the  present  boundaries  of  the  township  of  Fairfield.  A  straggling  Pequot,  who  hud 
been  captured,  guided  them  to  this  retreat.  But  Sassacus,  and  Mononotto,  his  prin 
cipal  war-captain,  suspecting  the  design  of  the  English,  fled  towards  the  Mohawk 
country,  biking  with  them  most  of  their  active  warriors.  About  eighty  of  tho 
Pequots,  with  a  few  Indian  residents  of  the  place,  who  were  vassals  of  the  latter, 
and  nearly  two  hundred  •old  men,  women,  and  children,  took  refuge  in  this  swamp, 
which  occupied  the  area  of  a  mile.  Portions  of  it  were  impassable  quagmires  and 
tangled  bushes ;  but  running  into  it,  and  nearly  subdividing  it,  was  a  dry  passage. 

Being  doubtful  how  to  approach  it,  some  of  the  men  waded  in,  stuck  fast  in  the 
mud,  were  wounded  severely,  and  were  with  difficulty  extricated.  The  assailants 
then  formed  a  circle  around  the  margin  of  the  swamp.  Not  wishing  to  punish  the 
feeble  and  innocent  alike  with  the  guilty,  a  negotiation  was  opened  which  resulted 
in  the  surrender  of  one  hundred  and  eighty  old  men,  women,  and  children  to  the 
English.  The  warriors,  however,  refusing  to  capitulate,  were  still  closely  besieged. 

A  night  thus  passed  away,  and  was  followed  by  a  foggy  morning.  As  the 
besiegers  stood  nearly  a  rod  apart,  about  three  o'clock  in  the  morning  the  Pequots 
made  a  sally  to  pass  the  circle,  which  proved  unsuccessful.  Another  attempt  at  a 
different  point  resulted  in  the  same  manner.  Shifting  their  ground,  a  third  and 
desperate  dash  was  attended  with  such  success  that  about  seventy  of  the  enemy 
escui>ed.  The  number  of  Pequote  killed  on  this  occasion,  and  in  the  other  struggles 
immediately  preceding,  was  twenty. 

But  the  stern  foe  of  the  English,  he  who  had  been  dignified  by  the  title  of  the 
Tyrant  of  Connecticut,  was  yet  at  liberty.  Sussacus  approached  the  upper  Hudson 
by  a  point  in  possession  of  Indians  linked  in  the  ancient  ties  of  affinity  with  the 
Mohicans,  dwelling  beyond  the  mountain-range  of  the  Taconic.  Sassacus  having 
been  at  variance  with  the  race  residing  in  New  England,  it  is  not  improbable  that 
the  sympathies  of  the  Mohicans  of  the  Hudson  leaned  towards  Uncas.  However 
this  may  be,  the  Mohicans  of  the  Hudson,  from  its  head-waters  to  its  mouth,  were 
the  vassals  of  the  Mohawks.  In  throwing  himself  upon  the  mercy  of  his  enemies  the 
Mohawks,  as  a  defeated  and  ruined  sachem  who  was  obliged  to  forsake  his  country, 
Sassacus  adopted  a  course  sanctioned  by  the  previous  example  of  wiser  and  greater 
men.  But  the  Mohawks  were  merciless,  at  least  in  this  instance,  for  the  fugitive 


WAR   OF  RACES— EARLY  COLONIAL  HISTORY.  121 

chief  was  no  sooner  recognized  by  them  than  an  arrow  was  driven  through  his  heart. 
With  him  fell  the  Pequots ;  the  power  which  had  once  been  the  terror  of  the  New 
England  colonies  was  destroyed,  and  from  this  time  forth  they  ceased  to  be  known 
as  a  tribe. 

With  Sassacus  fell  his  brother,  and  Mononotto,  his  second  in  command,  who,  at 
first  only  wounded,  was  finally  killed,  together  with  five  other  sachems,  all  of  whom 
were  scalped,  and  the  reeking  trophies  sent  to  the  English  in  the  hope  of  receiving 
a  reward.  It  being  apparent  from  the  statement  of  the  Indians  that  there  were 
nearly  two  hundred  Pequots  dispersed  among  the  various  tribes,  a  price  was  set  upon 
their  heads.  They  were  hunted  throughout  the  country  in  all  directions,  any  one 
being  not  only  permitted  but  even  encouraged  to  shoot  them  down  at  sight.  This 
remnant  of  the  tribe  at  last  having  offered  to  surrender  themselves  as  vassals  to  the 
English,  the  proposition  was  considered  and  accepted.  A  council  convened  for  this 
purpose  at  Hartford,  September  21,  1638,  at  which  Uncas  and  Miantonomo  were 
present.  It  was  decided  that  eighty  of  the  captives  should  be  assigned  to  Uncas, 
eighty  to  Miantonomo,  and  twenty  to  Ninigret,  chief  of  the  Niantics. 

Some  members  of  the  non-combatant  families  who  surrendered  at  the  swamp 
were  dispersed  as  domestics  over  the  country  which  had  been  the  scene  of  the  con 
flicts.  Forty-eight  women  and  children  came  to  Boston.  A  portion  of  those  dis 
tributed  as  domestics  fled  from  servitude,  but,  being  retaken  by  the  Indians,  they 
were  branded  on  the  shoulder.  The  best  authorities  state  that  they  were  very  restive 
under  the  yoke  of  slavery,  and  were  valueless  to  their  masters.  One  of  the  males 
was  given  to  a  gentleman  to  take  to  England ;  fifteen  boys  and  two  girls  were  sold 
ns  slaves  to  a  resident  of  the  Bermudas.  The  superannuated  old  men,  mournful 
witnesses  of  the  terrible  retribution  visited  on  their  country,  were  allowed  to  descend 
into  the  grave  unmolested. 

Those  of  the  tribe  who  accompanied  Sassacus  to  the  Hudson,  or  followed  the 
seventy  warriors  who  broke  through  the  English  line  at  the  swamp,  after  reaching 
the  valley  of  the  Hudson,  sent  a  messenger  to  the  Mohawks  requesting  their  permis 
sion  to  settle  on  this  unclaimed  territory.  They  were  assigned  the  position  of 
Schaghticoke,  whence  they  eventually  fled  to  Missisquoi  Bay,  near  the  foot  of  Lake 
Champlain,  in  Lower  Canada. 

For  a  long  time  the  name  of  Pequot  was  a  hated  epithet,  and  twenty  years  after 
the  occurrence  of  these  events,  viz.,  in  March,  1658,  the  Connecticut  court  passed  an 
act  changing  the  name  of  the  Pequot  River  to  the  Thames,  and  that  of  Pequot 
Point,  or  Harbor,  to  New  London. 


11—16 


CHAPTER   II. 

THE  NARRAGANSETTS-WAR  BETWEEN  UNCAS  AND  MIANTONOMO. 

DURING  the  greater  part  of  the  seventeenth  century  the  three  most  potent  tribes 
of  Southern  and  Western  New  England  were  the  Pokanokets  or  Wampanoags,  the 
Pequots,  and  the  Narragansette.  The  bands  who  claimed  the  name  of  Massachusetts 
Indians  may  be  deemed  to  have  been  represented  at  that  period  by  the  Naticks. 
These  were  the  bands  to  whom  the  gospel  was  especially  preached,  and  over  whom 
all  the  elements  of  civilization  had  obtained  more  or  less  influence,  and  the  natural 
result  of  their  progress  in  civilization  was  non-participation  in  the  Indian  wars.  The 
Pennacooks  and  Abenakis,  powerful  tribes  on  the  northern  borders  of  the  colony, 
did  not  come  into  collision  with  it,  and  their  history  more  properly  belongs  to  that 
of  New  Hampshire  and  Maine. 

By  the  displacement  of  the  Pequots,  the  Mohicans,  a  minor  branch  of  that  tribe, 
under  the  government  of  Uncas,  were  placed  in  antagonism  to  the  Narragansetts. 
After  the  death  of  the  Narragansett  chief  Canonicus  the  power  devolved  on  his  son 
Miantonomo,  a  talented,  energetic,  intrepid,  and  wily  savage.  Uncas,  having  sus 
tained  the  English  with  all  his  power  in  their  contest  with  the  Pequots,  under 
Sassacus,  against  whose  domination  he  had  rebelled,  was  henceforth  regarded  as  the 
guardian  spirit  of  Connecticut.  His  bravery  in  war,  his  decision  of  character,  his 
wisdom,  and  his  amenity  of  manners  won  praises  from  every  lip.  But  in  the  field, 
as  well  as  in  the  council,  Uncas  found  a  rival  in  Miantonomo,  who  ruled  the  more 
numerous  and  powerful  nation  of  the  Narragansetts.  At  that  period  this  tribe 
possessed  probably  a  greater  numerical  strength  than  any  other  of  the  New  England 
tribes.  They  were  located  on  the  large  islands  in  and  along  the  fertile  shores  of 
Narragansett  Bay,  having  a  few  years  earlier  sold  Aquidneck,  now  BJiode  Island,  to 
B>oger  Williams.  Their  principal  position  was  on  the  large  island  of  Canonicut, 
which  afforded  all  the  requisites  for  a  people  who,  being  expert  in  the  use  of  the 
canoe,  levied  contribution  alike  upon  the  game  of  the  neighboring  forests  and  the 
fish  in  the  surrounding  waters. 

The  Narragansetts  had  never  been  hearty  friends  of  the  English,  and,  although 
they  seemed  to  be  amicably  inclined,  they  pursued  a  devious  line  of  policy,  holding 
an  apparently  neutral  position  between  the  colonists,  the  Pequots,  the  Mohicans,  and 
the  Pokanokets.  The  pacific  influence  exercised  by  Williams,  who  had  located 
himself  at  an  Indian  village  on  the  head-waters  of  the  west  fork  of  the  bay,  called 
by  him  Providence,  kept  them  in  check.  But  no  sooner  were  the  Pequots  defeated 
and  the  power  of  Sassacus  destroyed  than  a  secret  enmity  against  the  Mohicans, 

under  Uncas,  developed  itself.     The  details  of  this  feud  are  too  unimportant  to  be 
122 


WAR   OF  RACES— EARLY  COLONIAL   HISTORY.  123 

stated  at  length.  A  few  years  passed,  characterized  only  by  a  surly  and  suspicious 
intercourse  between  the  two  rival  chiefs.  The  sympathies  of  the  English  inhabiting 
the  three  central  positions  of  Hartford,  Boston,  and  Plymouth  were  undoubtedly 
with  Uncas  and  the  Mohicans.  They  negotiated  treaties  with  the  Narragansetts,  in 
the  expectation  that  this  powerful  Indian  tribe  would  execute  their  agreements  with 
the  precision  and  under  the  operation  of  the  same  moral  principles  as  those  which 
govern  civilized  nations.  The  compact  entered  into  with  the  English  bound  the 
Narragansetts  not  to  engage  in  hostilities  against  Uncas  without  apprising  the  then 
united  colonies. 

In  1G44,  after  six  or  seven  years  of  mutual  distrust  had  elapsed,  the  Narragan 
setts,  eluding  even  the  vigilance  of  Roger  Williams,  suddenly  marched  a  body  of 
nine  hundred  warriors  into  the  Mohican  territories  with  the  design  of  attacking 
Uncas  at  a  disadvantage;  but  it  happened  that  some  of  the  Mohican  hunters  dis 
covered  them,  and  with  all  speed  conveyed  the  intelligence  to  their  chief.  The 
tribal  seat  of  the  Mohicans  of  Connecticut  was  then  located,  as  it  had  been  from  time 
immemorial,  at  the  head  of  the  Pequot  River,  now  the  Thames,  on  the  site  of  the 
present  city  of  Norwich. 

Collecting  a  force  of  five  or  six  hundred  warriors,  Uncas  determined  not  to  await 
the  onset  of  his  adversary,  but  to  advance  and  attack  him.  After  marching  five  or 
six  miles,  he  encountered  Miantonomo  and  his  army  on  a  plain  stretching  along  the 
banks  of  the  Shetucket,  whereupon  he  halted  his  force.  There  appeared  to  be  no 
choice  of  position  on  either  side,  the  plain  being  level  and  spacious.  Uncas,  who  had 
become  somewhat  versed  in  English  strategy,  and  understood  the  advantage  to  be 
gained  by  prompt  movements,  perceived  at  once  that  if  he  could  by  a  sudden  attack 
produce  confusion  and  drive  Miantonomo  down  the  banks  of  the  Shetucket  he  would 
be  able  to  overcome  his  foe's  superior  numbers.  This  is  the  only  explanation  that 
can  be  given  of  the  course  he  adopted.  No  sooner  had  he  halted  within  speaking 
distance  than  he  stepped  forward  and  tendered  his  adversary  the  choice  of  deciding 
the  fate  of  the  day  by  personal  combat.  Miantonomo  replied  that  his  men  had  come 
to  fight,  and  fight  they  should.  On  the  instant,  Uncas,  who  was  a  very  tall  man, 
threw  himself  on  the  ground,  that  being  a  preconcerted  signal  for  his  troops  to  ad 
vance,  which  they  did  with  such  ardor  and  fury  that  they  drove  the  enemy  down 
the  escarpment  of  the  river,  and  pursued  them  so  vigorously  that  some  of  the  swift 
Mohican  runners,  knowing  Uncas  to  be  near  at  hand,  caught  Miantonomo  by  some 
portion  of  his  dress,  temporarily  impeding  his  flight,  which  enabled  the  former  to 
make  the  capture  himself.  Uncas  then  sounded  the  whoop  of  victory  to  recall  his 
men,  and  to  signify  that  Miantouomo  was  a  prisoner,  as  if  his  capture  had  been  the 
only  object  of  the  Mohicans. 

Not  a  look  of  the  Narragansett  sachem,  far  less  a  word,  evinced  any  dread  of  his 
enemies.  He  bore  himself  before  his  captor  with  unflinching  dignity  and  pride. 
"  Had  you  taken  me,"  said  Uncas,  with  some  of  that  suavity  of  manner  derived  from 
his  English  associations,  "  I  should  have  asked  you  to  spare  me."  Not  a  word, 
however,  was  deigned  in  reply.  Notwithstanding,  Uncas  spared  his  life,  the  usual 


124  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

privilege  of  an  Indian  victor ;  but  he  carried  him  with  him  to  Norwich,  as  a  trophy 
of  his  victory,  whence  he  conducted  him  to  Hartford.  The  question  of  his  fate  was 
submitted  to  the  English,  as  one  requiring  grave  deliberation.  It  had  been  felt  ever 
since  the  close  of  the  Pequot  war  that  the  Narragansetts  exercised  an  influence 
adverse  to  the  growth  and  prosperity  of  the  settlements.  The  very  war  in  which 
they  had  just  been  engaged  was  in  violation  of  a  solemn  agreement  made  with  com 
missioners  formally  appointed,  and  was  waged  against  the  worthiest  and  most  trusty, 
sachem  who  had  befriended  the  colonies.  Yet  the  English  considered  the  case  to  be 
beyond  their  jurisdiction :  the  territory  being  Indian,  they  decided  that  aboriginal 
customs  and  laws  must  be  allowed  to  take  their  course. 

Miantonomo  was,  therefore,  conducted  buck  to  the  battle-field,  on  the  banks  of  the 
Shetucket,  escorted  by  two  Englishmen,  to  shield  him  from,  any  attempt  at  cruelty. 
The  retinue  traversed  the  scene  of  the  late  conflict  with  all  the  impressive  dignity  of 
an  uiticiiil  cortege.  Uncas,  who  knew  the  chief  personally,  determined  to  have  no 
hand  in  the  execution,  and  therefore  deputed  the  duty  to  one  of  his  war-captains, 
enjoining  him  to  leave  the  Narragansett  in  entire  ignorance  of  his  fate.  He  only 
knew  that  he  was  remanded  to  the  spot  of  his  capture.  Before  reaching  this  point, 
the  warrior  intrusted  with  the  task,  who  walked  immediately  behind  him,  suddenly 
drew  a  tomahawk  and  with  one  blow  laid  him  dead  at  his  feet.  The  scene  of  this 
tragedy  has  since  been  culled  Sachem's  Plain.  Though  burning  with  desire  for 
vengeance,  his  tribe  feared  a  conflict  with  the  English,  and  were  at  length  compelled 
to  submit  to  a  peace,  the  conditions  of  which  were  onerous  in  the  extreme.  Joining 
Philip  in  his  war  upon  the  Massachusetts  colonists,  in  1675,  the  Narragansetts  were 
almost  totally  destroyed  by  the  terrible  blow  inflicted  upon  them  at  the  "swamp 
fight"  in  South  Kingstown,  Rhode  Island,  December  8  of  that  year. 


' 


CHAPTER    III. 

THE  POKANOKET  TRIBE  AND  PHILIP'S  WAR— THE  NARRAGANSETTS  JOIN  PHILIP 
AND   ARE   DEFEATED  AND   HUMBLED— OVERTHROW   AND  DEATH   OF   PHILIP. 

\ViiEX  the  New  England  colonies  were  established,  the  Pokanoket  tribe  was  in 
the  ascendency.  The  coast  tribes,  indeed,  if  not  almost  annihilated,  had  been  deci 
mated  by  a  pestilential  disease ;  but  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  the  chiefs 
who  sat  in  the  council  lodges  surrounding  the  waters  of  Massachusetts  Bay  acknowl 
edged  fealty  to  the  reigning  sachem  of  Mount  Hope.  Such  was  the  complexion  of 
political  affairs  when  the  Pilgrims  landed  at  Plymouth  in  1620. 

The  Pokanokets  were  descended  from  an  ancient  stock,  and  it  is  believed  that 
they  established  themselves  on  the  peninsula  with  the  aid  of  their  friends  and  allies 
the  Narragansetts  and  Pequots,  after  conquering  the  tribes  which  then  held  posses 
sion.  Evidences  of  their  ancient  triumphs  have,  it  is  believed,  been  found  in  the 
rude  and  simple  pictographs  of  the  country, — a  few  heads  and  cross-bones  or  clubs, 
sculptured  on  a  boulder  or  on  a  cliff,  as  mementos  of  battle.  These  simple  historical 
memorials  were  more  common  among  the  hills  and  valleys  of  the  country  when  it 
was  first  occupied  than  they  are  at  the  present  day.  It  is  deeply  to  be  regretted  that 
a  wanton  spirit  of  destructivcncss  should  have  led  in  so  many  instances  to  the  muti 
lation  or  alteration  of  the  primitive  monuments  of  the  Indian  nations.  The  most 
noted,  as  also  the  largest,  of  these  pictographs  yet  legible  is  on  the  Massachusetts 
borders  of  the  Taunton  or  Assonet  River.  Foreign  archaeologists  have  attempted  to 
give  this  inscription  an  unmerited  historical  value  as  a  Scandinavian  monument. 
Having  visited  the  locality  and  made  it  a  study,  with  the  aid  of  an  Indian  inter 
preter,  Mr.  Schoolcraft  had  no  hesitation  in  pronouncing  it  an  Algonkin  pictographic 
record  of  an  Indian  battle.  This  was  also  the  interpretation  given  by  an  intelligent 
Indian  jos«ikecd  and  Indian  pictographist  to  whom  he  exhibited  a  copy  of  it  on  the 
island  of  Michilimackinac.  Being  well  versed  in  the  Indian  creed  and  practices,  he 
found  in  the  pictograph  a  record  of  priestly  skill  in  necromancy,  and  the  success 
here  pictured  was,  as  he  said,  due  partly  to  the  expertness  of  some  priest  in  the 
necromantic  art.  The  amazement  of  the  vanquished  at  the  sudden  assault  of  the 
victors  is  symbolically  depicted  by  their  being  deprived  of  both  hands  and  arms, 
and  hence  of  the  power  of  making  any  resistance.  The  name  of  the  reigning  chief 
of  the  tribe  is  likewise  described  by  a  symbol  as  having  been  Hong,  or  the  Loon,  and 
his  totem  the  sun. 

The  Pokanokets,  who  may  be  considered  to  have  been  allied  with  the  Narragan 
setts  in  the  victory  represented  in  the  above  pictograph,  had  preserved  friendly 
relations  with  that  powerful  coast-tribe  from  the  earliest  dates.  It  is  evident  that 

~^~.  125 


126  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

they  were  also  allied  with  the  Pennacooks  of  the  Merrimac  in  the  north,  and  with 
the  Pequote,  who,  under  Sassacus,  were  so  unfortunate  as  to  wage  war  against  Uncas 
and  his  Mohicans,  protected  as  the  latter  were  by  the  »gis  of  the  infant  Connecticut 
colony. 

The  name  of  Wampanoag,  by  which  the  Pokanokets  were  also  designated,  appears 
to  denote  the  fact  that  they  were,  from  early  times,  the  custodians  of  the  imperial 
shell  or  medal.  They  were  so  brave  and  warlike  that  the  surrounding  tribes 
regarded  them  as  the  most  powerful  organization  on  the  coast  from  Narragansett 
Buy  to  Massachusetts  Bay. 

When  the  Plymouth  colony  was  founded,  the  Pokanoket  tribe  was  governed  by 
Massasoit.  We  have  seen  that  the  colonists  found  the  vicinity  of  their  location 
unoccupied, — old  corn-fields,  deserted  lodges,  and  graves  hastily  covered  denoting  the 
ravages  of  the  pestilence  which  had  depopulated  this  region.  They  made  it  their 
early  endeavor  to  seek  an  interview  with  Massasoit  and  establish  friendly  relations 
with  him,  the  conference  being  managed  carefully  with  a  view  to  effect.  Musicians 
and  soldiers,  armed  with  muskets,  accompanied  the  English  governor,  and  the  nego 
tiations  afforded  a  fair  specimen  of  both  Indian  and  colonial  diplomacy.  It  was 
characterized,  also,  by  the  introduction  to  the  Indians  of  that  element  which  has 
since  proved  a  source  of  so  much  injury  to  the  race.  Here  the  Indians  first  learned 
to  drink  alcoholic  liquors. 

Political  power  among  the  Indians  of  New  England  was  at  this  time  wielded 
principally  by  two  influential  bashabaries, — namely,  the  Pokanoket  and  Pennacook 
tribal  leagues.  Both  confederations  comprised  a  union  of  the  religious  and  political 
elements.  A  simple  sagamore  appears  to  have  wielded  only  a  local  power,  while  the 
bashaba  also  filled  the  priestly  office  of  chief  jossakeed,  powwow,  or  prophet.  The 
Peunacook  bashabary  was  confined  almost  exclusively  to  the  country  north  of  the 
Merrimac,  extending  through  New  Hampshire  into  Maine,  and  gave  the  early  colo 
nists  but  little  trouble.  But  the  Mount  Hope  (or  Montaup)  government  included 
the  territory  immediately  around  the  new  homes  of  the  colonists.  Every  foot  of 
land  they  added  to  their  possessions  was  gained  by  permission  of,  agreement  with,  or 
purchase  from,  the  chiefs  and  sagamores  of  this  confederacy.  The  fact  that  neither 
the  Narragansetts  nor  the  Pequots  in  the  west,  nor  the  Pennacooks  in  the  north, 
made  grants  in  the  territory  of  Massachusetts,  is  conclusive  proof  that  the  authority 
of  Massasoit  was  supreme.  One  of  the  first  objects  of  the  colonists  was  to  secure 
peace  on  their  frontiers  by  concluding  treaties  of  amity  with  the  Indians.  Con 
sidering  the  influence  of  this  central  organization,  it  is  not  surprising  that  for  so 
long  a  period  they  kept  the  storm  of  open  Indian  warfare  from  their  continually 
progressing  settlements,  Massasoit  being  in  allegiance  with  the  three  great  powers 
around  him,  namely,  the  Narragansetts,  the  Pequots,  and  the  Pennacooks.  These 
tribes  and  their  component  septs  and  bands  all  originally  spoke  one  language,  prac 
tised  one  religion,  were  conversant  with  precisely  the  same  arts,  and  were  under  the 
influence  of  identical  customs  and  manners.  According  to  Prince,  the  news  of 
the  massacre  in  Virginia  in  March,  1622,  perpetrated  by  Opechancanough,  reached 


WAR   OF  RACES— EARLY  COLONIAL  HISTORY.  127 

Plymouth  in  May,  and  made  the  colonists  more  fearful  of  Indian  treachery.  By 
great  vigilance  and  caution  in  circumventing  the  schemes  and  diverting  the  ani 
mosities  of  the  petty  chiefs,  the  colonists  succeeded  in  securing  some  twenty  years 
of  undisturbed  peace.  It  was  not  until  the  year  1646,  when  John  Eliot  began  to 
preach  the  gospel  to  the  Indians,  and  held  his  religious  conference  with  them  under 
the  old  oaks  at  Natick,  that  the  Indian  jossakeeds  became  seriously  alarmed. 

While  the  English  were  making  themselves  acquainted  with  the  character, 
positions,  and  wants  of  the  Indians  of  New  York,  the  causes  of  discord  between  the 
New  England  tribes  and  the  colonists  still  continued,  but,  like  a  smouldering  fire, 
they  were  very  much  concealed  from  public  view.  The  severity  with  which  the 
Pequots  were  treated  secured  the  peace  of  the  country  for  some  thirty  years,  though 
at  no  time  during  this  period  could  the  colonists  relax  their  vigilance  for  one 
moment.  The  war  between  the  Mohicans  and  the  Narragansetts,  under  Uncas  and 
Miantonomo,  demonstrated  to  the  tribes  that,  however  fiercely  discord  and  war  might 
rage  among  themselves,  the  great  and  vital  objects  of  the  colonists  were  not  retarded, 
but  were  rather  promoted,  by  the  extinction  of  the  petty  Indian  sovereignties. 

At  length,  in  167o,  those  smothered  burnings  burst  forth  into  a  flame.  Massa 
chusetts  having  been  in  truth  the  mother  of  the  British  colonies  of  the  North,  she 
now  became  the  principal  object  against  which  the  long  pent-up  wrath  of  the 
aborigines  was  directed.  The  majority  of  her  sea-coast  and  inland  tribes  had, 
indeed,  yielded  to  the  influences  of  civilization  and  gospel  teachings,  and  had 
engaged  in  the  pursuits  of  agriculture,  but  in  her  assemblies  of  neophytes  there 
were  disciples  of  the  native  Indian  priesthood  who  sometimes  maintained  their  view 
of  the  questions  at  issue  with  great  boldness.  The  larger  part  of  the  Indian  popula 
tion  of  the  interior,  and  towards  the  south,  southwest,  and  west,  hated  a  life  of  labor, 
as  also  the  religion  of  the  Puritans,  and  secretly  banded  together  to  make  another 
combined  effort  for  the  extinction  and  expulsion  of  the  English.  This  combination 
was  headed  by  the  Pokanokets,  whose  council-fires  burned  on  Mount  Hope  (now 
Bristol,  Rhode  Island). 

It  has  been  previously  stated  that  this  tribe  had  very  extensive  affiliations  with 
the  principal  Indian  families  of  the  country.  They  were  the  leading  tribe  of  the 
Pokanoket  alliance,  which  constituted  a  kind  of  aboriginal  hereditary  presidency.1 
The  benevolent  Massasoit  held  the  chief  office  at  the  period  of  the  founding  of  the 
Plymouth  colony,  and  both  he  and  his  descendants  were,  up  to  the  close  of  the  war, 
deemed  the  legitimate  sovereigns,  possessing  power  to  alienate  land.  Massasoit,  who 
by  his  equanimity  and  conservative  character  had  maintained  a  good  understanding 
with  the  colonists,  died  just  previous  to  1660,  and  was  succeeded  at  alternate  periods 
by  his  sons  Popquit  and  Metakom,  or,  according  to  the  researches  of  Mr.  Drake,* 

1  This  group  appears  to  have  consisted  principally  of  the  Pawtuckets,  Neponsetts,  Nonantums,  Wirlia- 
gatthas,  Nashoways,  Naniuckets,  Puncapaugs,  Nipmucks,  Nocanticks,  and  Wampanoags  or  Pokanoketa,  the 
latter  b--ing  the  reigning  tribe.  The  PukaaokcU  had  been  rcry  numerous,  bat  their  population  had  been 
diminished  by  the  general  sickness  prior  to  (ho  year  1620. 

'  Drake's  Book  of  the  Indians,  p.  14. 


128  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

more  correctly,  Pometakom.  The  colonial  court  at  one  of  its  sittings  gave  them 
the  names  of  Alexander  and  Philip,  in  compliment  to  their  martial  bearing.  Alex 
ander,  who  possessed  a  high  spirit,  ruled  but  a  short  time,  dying  of  a  fever  suddenly 
contracted  while  on  a  visit  to  the  Plymouth  colony.  Pometakom,  better  known 
as  King  Philip,  succeeded  him.  He  had  a  large  and  finely-developed  head,  and 
possessed  great  resolution,  activity,  and  powers  of  endurance.  John  Josselyn,  who 
saw  Philip  at  Boston  about  1669,  thus  describes  his  dress :  "  His  coat  and  buckskins 
were  thick-set  with  beads  (wampumpeag)  in  pleasant  wild  works,  and  a  bro*d  belt  of 
the  same.  His  accoutrements  were  valued  at  twenty  pounds  sterling."  He  may  be 
regarded  as  the  true  representative  of  the  Indian  hunter.  He  was  familiar  with 
every  foot  of  ground  between  Mount  Hope  and  Massachusetts  Bay,  had  witnessed 
the  foundation  and  rise  of  the  colonies,  was  well  known  to  the  colonists,  and  they  to 
him,  loved  the  independence  of  savage  life  and  rule,  took  great  pride  in  his  ancestry, 
loved  the  old  Indian  rites,  and  retained  in  his  service  a  numerous  priesthood,  or  body 
of  prophets,  sagamores,  and  powwows,  demonology  and  idolatry,  magic  and  soothsay 
ing,  being  cherished  by  him  as  the  religion  of  his  ancestors.  He  loved  hunting  and 
fishing,  and  despised  the  life  of  labor  recommended  to  him.  He  may  be  said  to  have 
detested  civilization  in  all  its  forms,  and  he  abhorred  the  doctrines  of  Christianity. 

During  twelve  years  Philip  had  been  a  silent  observer  of  the  growth  of  New 
England.  Twenty  years  had  elapsed  since  the  close  of  the  war  between  the  Narra- 
gansetts  and  the  Mohicans,  of  which  the  colonists  had  been  passive  though  deeply 
interested  spectators,  merely  employing  their  influence  with  the  tribes  to  keep  them 
at  peace  with  the  colonies  and  with  one  another.  For  several  years  prior  to  the 
breaking  out  of  the  Pokanoket  war,  Philip  had  been  regarded  with  suspicion,  and  a 
close  eye  was  kept  on  his  movements.  It  appears  that,  in  addition  to  his  authority 
among  the  eight  or  ten  tribes  who  acknowledged  his  supremacy,  his  influence  was 
exerted  among  the  Narragansetts,  his  immediate  neighbors  on  the  south,  whose  pos 
sessions  extended  northwardly  to  those  of  the  Pennacooks  of  the  river  Merrimac, 
and  the  other  tribes  of  the  Pawtuckets. 

It  was  a  current  belief  among  the  colonists  as  early  as  1671  that  a  rising  of  the 
Indians  was  planned  and  ready  for  execution,  and  that  Philip  was  accountable  for 
any  injuries  they  might  receive  from  the  Indians  supposed  to  be  under  his  influence. 
Summoned  on  September  29, 1671,  before  the  Commissioners  of  the  United  Colonies, 
he  was  compelled  to  sign  a  paper  acknowledging  himself  subject  to  the  Plymouth 
government  and  laws,  and  to  pay  one  hundred  pounds  sterling,  for  which,  as  he  could 
not  at  once  do  it,  he  was  to  have  three  years'  time,  and  was  to  pay  "  in  such  things 
as  he  had."  Five  wolves'  heads  were  to  be  sent  annually  as  tribute  to  the  governor. 
These  exactions,  which  he  w;  T  in  no  condition  to  refuse,  were  extremely  galling  to 
his  proud  and  haughty  soul. 

Philip  and  the  tribes  that  were  under  his  influence,  surrounded  by  the  constantly 
increasing  plantations  of  the  English,  crowded  by  hated  neighbors,  losing  one  by  one 
their  fields  or  hunting-grounds,  and  he  himself  frequently  summoned  to  Boston  or 
Plymouth  to  reply  to  an  accusation  or  to  explain  his  acts,  sighed  for  their  old  free- 


WAR   OF  RACES- EARLY  COLONIAL   HISTORY.  129 

dom,  and  nursed  a  spirit  of  savage  independence.  The  haughty  chief,  who  had  been 
obliged  to  give  up  his  "  English  arms"  and  to  pay  an  onerous  tribute,  again  fell 
under  suspicion  in  1674,  and  was  again  summoned  for  examination. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  Philip  was  long  very  averse  to  the  war.     This  is  the  con 
stant  tradition  among  the  posterity  of  persons  who  lived  in  his  immediate  vicinity 
and  in  familiar  intercourse  with  him,  and  also  with  the  Indians  who  survived  the 
/•  war.    The  spot  is  still  pointed  out  in  Bristol  where  Philip — who  only  the  day  before    \ 
/  had  rescued  and  returned  safely  to  his  home  a  captive  Englishman — shed  tears  on 
/    receiving  the  news  of  the  killing  of  the  first  Englishman  who  fell.     He  was  convinced    / 
I    at  length  that  a  war  could  not  be  avoided,  and  during  its  progress  he  enlisted  in  his  / 
behalf  as  many  allies  as  possible.     Neither  Bancroft,  Palfrey,  nor  Drake  takes  the 
view  that  Philip's  war  was  a  wide-spread,  premeditated  effort  to  expel  the  English 
colonists. 

A  conference  to  settle  the  existing  difficulties  took  place  April  10,  1G75,  only  a 
few  weeks  before  the  war  broke  out,  at  the  meeting-house  in  Taunton,  Philip  and 
his  warriors,  painted,  armed,  and  in  war-costume,  occupying  one  side  of  the  house, 
and  the  English,  also  armed,  the  other.  The  result  of  this  conference  was  the 
delivery  of  all  the  guns  of  the  Indians  to  the  colonists,  and  an  increase  of  hatred  on 
the  part  of  the  former  for  the  latter.  Philip's  principal  councillors,  all  of  whom  were 
heads  of  small  clans  or  tribes  of  Wampanoags,  and  all  of  whom  perished  in  the  war, 
were  "Watuspaquin,  styled  the  Black  Sachem,  his  son  William,  Peebe,  Uncompoin, 
Unnathum  or  Munashum,  usually  called  Nimrod,  and  Annawan. 

Philip's  plan  for  uniting  all  the  border  Indians  in  a  general  war  against  the 
colonies  is  supposed  to  have  been  revealed  by  a  friendly  Christian  Indian  called 
Sausnman.  He,  being  Philip's  scribe  or  counsellor,  was  in  his  confidence  and  ac 
quainted  with  his  designs.  For  this  act  he  was  made  to  pay  the  forfeit  of  his  life. 
He  was  murdered  by  three  emissaries  of  Philip.  While  fishing  on  a  pond  through 
an  orifice  in  the  ice,  he  was  approached  without  suspicion  by  his  foes,  who  knocked 
him  on  the  head  and  then  thrust  his  body  through  the  opening.  In  June,  1675,  the 
murderers  were  identified,  tried,  and  hanged. 

It  is  estimated  that  in  1673  the  entire  white  population  of  New  England  was 
about  fifty  thousand  souls,  of  whom  eight  thousand  were  capable  of  bearing  arms. 
About  this  time  Massachusetts  alone  mustered  twelve  troops  of  cavalry,  comprising 
sixty  men  each,  who  were  armed  and  stationed  at  various  points  to  punish  any  sudden 
aggressions.  The  white  population  had  within  forty  years  spread  from  its  original 
nucleus  at  Plymouth  more  than  one  hundred  miles  westward,  and  in  some  places  the 
same  distance  to  the  north.  But,  owing  to  this  very  expansion,  it  presented  on  every 
frontier  a  broken,  unconnected  line,  continually  subject  to  the  depredations  of  the 
hostile  Indians.  At  these  exposed  points  in  the  line  of  the  advancing  settlements 
every  man  was  the  daily  guardian  of  his  own  life,  untiring  vigilance  being  the  only 
guarantee  of  safety.  The  Indians  numbered  about  thirty  thousand. 

To  qualify  himself  for  his  great  effort  against  the  New  England  colonies,  and  to 
relieve  his  men  from  domestic  cares,  Philip  sent  his  own  family,  and  all  the  women 

ii— 17 


130  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

and  children  of  his  nation,  into  the  country  of  his  friends  and  neighbors  the  Narm- 
gansetts.  The  Narragansett  chief  Canonchet,  the  son  of  Miantonomo,  who  had  been 
the  reigning  sachem  since  the  death  of  his  father,  by  this  course  involved  himself 
deeply  with  the  colonies,  and  it  ultimately  cost  him  his  life ;  for  the  colonists  could 
now  no  longer  doubt  that  the  Narragansetts  not  only  sympathized  deeply  with  Philip, 
but  had  acceded  to  his  plans.  They  therefore  organized  a  strong  force  agaiust  this 
tribe,  and,  after  the  capture  of  Canonchet  in  a  conflict  which  occurred  near  Seekonk, 
the  tribe  succumbed  and  formed  a  new  treaty  with  their  conquerors.  Canonchet 
himself  was  sent  to  the  Mohicans,  under  Uncas,  and  by  them  executed. 

Philip  had  kept  up  his  communications  with  the  central  powers  of  the  colonies, 
particularly  by  two  personal  visits  to  Plymouth  in  1662  and  1671,  during  which 
time  he  renewed  the  fealty  first  pledged  by  his  father  Massasoit  After  the  disclosure 
made  by  Sausaman,  his  intentions  could  no  longer  be  concealed,  and  when  it  became 
known  that  he  had  abandoned  his  ancestral  seat  at  Mount  Hope,  and  sent  the  women 
and  children  to  a  place  of  safety,  it  was  supposed,  and  with  truth,  that  he  was 
ranging  up  and  down  among  the  tribes,  arousing  his  followers,  and  exciting  in  them 
a  desire  for  war  and  plunder.  The  tragedy  soon  opened  along  the  entire  line  of 
the  New  England  frontiers,  and  the  struggle  which  followed  was  by  far  the  severest 
ordeal  the  New  England  colonies  ever  passed  through. 

Philip's  energies  appeared  to  be  almost  superhuman,  for  it  was  either  his  voice 
which  animated  or  his  hand  which  directed  every  attack.  The  war  commenced  near 
Mount  Hope  on  the  24th  of  June,  1675.  A  party  of  Philip's  warriors  being  sent 
to  the  English  settlement  at  Mattapoisett  (now  Swanzey),  they  plundered  the  houses, 
and  killed  some  of  the  cattle.  In  this  foray  an  Indian  being  shot,  the  others  rushed 
forward  and  murdered  nine  of  the  English.  Intelligence  of  the  affray  was  quickly 
spread,  and  the  Plymouth  and  Massachusetts  colonies  immediately  sent  troops  into 
the  field.  Within  four  days  thereafter  a  company  of  foot,  under  Captain  Daniel 
Henchman,  and  a  troop  of  horse,  under  Captain  Thomas  Prentice,  were  on  the  march, 
and  were  joined  on  the  27th  by  Captain  Samuel  Moscley's  company  of  one  hundred 
and  ten  men,  who  had  with  them  a  number  of  dogs  to  be  used  in  hunting  the 
Indians.  Arriving  at  Swanzey  on  the  28th,  they  were  there  joined  by  the  Plymouth 
men  under  Captain  James  Cudworth,  who  took  command  of  the  united  forces. 
Captain  Benjamin  Church,  afterwards  conspicuous  as  an  Indian  fighter,  was  a 
volunteer  in  this  command.  A  month  later  a  company  of  Christian  Indians  under 
Captain  Isaac  Johnson,  of  Roxbury,  joined  Major  Savage,  and  acquitted  themselves 
"  courageously  and  faithfully"  in  the  service. 

Several  skirmishes  ensued,  and  a  few  Indians  as  well  as  English  were  killed. 
The  forces  of  the  latter  being  soon  recruited,  they  proceeded,  under  Captain  Thomas 
Savage,  commander-in-chief  of  the  Massachusetts  forces,  to  Mount  Hope,  which  was 
found  to  be  deserted,  the  enemy  having  fled.  The  dragoons  while  reconnoitring  the 
vicinity  discovered  a  small  party  of  Indians,  and  killed  four  or  five  of  the  number. 
The  troops  then  received  orders  to  march  into  the  country  of  the  Narragansetts  and 
bring  them  to  an  account,  but  were  met  with  many  professions  of  a  desire  for  peace. 


WAR    OF  RACES— EARLY  COLONIAL  U1STORY.  131 

Negotiations  having  been  opened,  the  Narragansetts  signed  a  treaty  July  15,  binding 
themselves  "  as  far  as  was  in  their  power"  to  oppose  Philip.  At  this  time  a  price 
was  placed  on  Philip's  head  delivered  "  dead  or  alive." 

While  the  English  were  concluding  with  the  Narragansetts  a  worthless  treaty, 
the  hostiles  were  actively  occupied  in  burning  houses,  destroying  property,  and 
killing  and  mutilating  the  inhabitants.  Taunton,  Middleborough,  Dartmouth,  and 
Mendon  were  thus  visited,  small  parties  spreading  in  various  directions.  One  of 
these  attacked  the  house  of  John  Minot,  in  Dorchester. 

Meantime,  Captain  Benjamin  Church  had  penetrated  Pocasset,  into  whose  exten 
sive  swamps  Philip  had  withdrawn  his  warriors,  where  he  found  and  engaged  some 
straggling  parties,  but,  not  meeting  with  the  success  he  desired,  he  soon  after  returned 
to  the  same  locality  with  fifty  men.  Dividing  these  for  the  purpose  of  more  effect 
ually  pursuing  the  search,  Fuller  led  one  party  towards  the  open  bay,  while  Church 
with  the  other  penetrated  the  interior,  where,  encountering  the  enemy  in  force,  he 
was  driven  back.  Fuller  was  also  attacked  by  superior  numbers,  and,  after  reaching 
the  shore,  both  parties  were  saved  from  destruction  only  by  the  fortunate  proximity 
of  a  Rhode  Island  sloop.  As  soon  as  the  English  force  could  be  concentrated, 
another  expedition  was  sent  to  Pocasset,  and  several  desultory  engagements  resulted 
in  the  killing  of  fourteen  or  fifteen  Indians.  On  the  arrival  of  the  entire  allied 
force,  Philip,  after  some  slight  skirmishing,  retired  to  that  favorite  natural  fortress 
of  the  Indians, — a  swamp.  With  the  approach  of  night  the  English  retired,  but 
being  reinforced  the  following  day  by  one  hundred  men,  and  observing  that  Philip 
occupied  a  narrow  peninsula,  seven  miles  in  length,  having  an  impenetrable  swamp 
in  the  interior,  they  resolved  to  cut  off  his  communications  and  starve  him  out.  The 
chief,  seeing  his  critical  position,  took  advantage  of  a  dark  night  (August  1),  and, 
constructing  rafts  of  timber,  escaped  across  the  Assonet  or  Taunton  River  to  his 
allies  the  Nipmucks,  a  wandering  tribe,  whose  segregated  bands  occupied  a  large  area 
of  territory.  W'hen,  the  following  morning,  it  was  discovered  that  Philip  had  fled, 
the  allies  hotly  pursued  him,  and,  tracing  his  trail  by  the  aid  of  the  Mohicans,  they 
overtook  him  at  night  on  Rehoboth  Plain,  and  killed  thirty  of  his  warriors,  the  wily 
chief,  with  the  rest  of  his  force,  succeeding  in  making  good  his  escape.  Within  a 
week  from  the  commencement  of  hostilities  the  savages  had  been  driven  from  Mount 
Hope,,  and  in  less  than  a  month  Philip  was  a  fugitive  among  the  interior  tribes  of 
Massachusetts.  Philip  had  fled  to  the  quarter  where  he  had  the  greatest  number  of 
allies.  His  plan  apparently  was,  if  defeated  in  New  England,  to  retire  towards  the 
territory  occupied  by  the  Baron  de  St.  Castin,  an  influential  trader,  or  Indian  factor, 
who  resided  in  Maine,  had  intermarried  with  the  Penobscots,  and  sympathized  with 
the  effort  of  Philip,  with  whom  he  is  said  by  all  the  authorities  of  that  period  to 
have  been  in  league.  There  is  no  doubt  of  his  friendship  for,  and  alliance  with,  the 
Pennacooks  and  their  affiliated  bands  of  the  Merrimac,  extending  northward  to  the 
Penobscot,  Canada,  and  Acadia,  where  an  adverse  political  element  existed.  France 
was  regarded  by  the  aborigines  in  all  respecta  as  the  friend  of  the  Indian  race,  and 
the  destruction  of  the  English  colonies  was  as  much  of  an  object  to  the  French  as  it 


132  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

ever  could  have  been  considered  by  Philip.  The  Indians  acting  under  Philip  had 
been,  without  doubt,  supplied  with  fire-arms  and  ammunition  from  the  commercial 
depdt  of  the  Baron  de  St.  Costin,  and  this  species  of  aid  and  sympathy  may  be  con 
sidered  as  having  afforded  Philip  good  grounds  for  hoping  for  success  in  what  would 
otherwise  have  been  a  desperate  undertaking. 

In  after-years,  when  the  Pennacooks  and  the  other  Indians  of  Southern  New 
Hampshire  fled  to  the  north  and  allied  themselves  with  the  Abenakis,  it  was  this 
very  French  influence  upon  which  they  relied.  After  a  few  years  spent  in  various 
employments  in  the  West,  subsequent  to  the  year  1689,  Sebastian  Rale  established 
himself  at  Norridgewock,  on  the  Kennebec,  when  this  connection  with  the  New 
England  Indians  became  more  fully  apparent.  The  fugitive  Indians  were  encouraged 
in  their  hostility  to  the  English,  and  became  expert  in  the  use  of  fire-arms,  which  at 
that  era  had  entirely  superseded  bows  and  arrows.  Returning  in  detached  parties, 
like  hyenas  in  search  of  prey,  they  fell  upon  the  people  of  the  new  and  isolated 
settlements,  from  whose  precincts  they  had  previously  fled,  with  the  exterminating 
knife  and  tomahawk,  marking  their  course  with  scenes  of  arson  and  murder  which 
are  hcnrt-rcnding  and  horrible  to  contemplate. 

St.  Custiu,  it  is  affirmed,  was  a  French  nobleman  of  distinction,  a  colonel  in  the 
king's  body-guard.  He  was  a  man  noted  for  his  intrigue  as  well  as  his  enterprise, 
who  had  formed  an  alliance  with  the  Abenakis  and  other  Indians  of  this  part  of  the 
country,  the  object  of  which  was  to  impede  the  progress  of  the  colonies  of  Plymouth, 
Massachusetts,  and  other  parts  of  New  England.  He  had  married  and  had  living 
with  him  at  one  time  six  Indian  wives.  Several  Roman  Catholic  priests  also  resided 
with  him  in  his  palace,  which  formed  a  sort  of  aboriginal  court  and  was  located  on 
the  eastern  bank  of  the  Penobscot,  near  its  mouth,  where  the  town  of  Castine,  in 
Maine,  now  stands.  By  these  means,  as  well  as  by  his  genius  and  enterprise,  he 
had  acquired  a  vast  influence  over  the  natives,  not  only  furnishing  them  with  fire 
arms,  but  also  instructing  them  in  their  use.  He  began  his  career  among  the  Penob- 
scots  in  1661,  and  followed  it  up  with  such  success  that  at  the  commencement  of 
Philip's  war  the  knowledge  of  the  use  of  gunpowder  and  fire-arms  was  universal 
among  the  Indians. 

It  must  not,  however,  be  forgotten  that  Philip,  independently  of  his  expectations 
from  the  sympathy  of  the  French,  was  actuated  by  his  own  natural  antipathies  in 
his  attempt  to  drive  the  English  out  of  New  England,  and  that  when  he  abandoned 
Mount  Hope  he  threw  himself  among  his  Indian  friends  and  allies  with  the  purpose 
of  inciting  them  to  make  incessant  attacks  on  the  settlements.  To  do  this  effectually 
it  was  necessary  to  surprise  them  in  detail.  Places  known  to  be  in  the  occupancy  of 
the  militia  were  avoided  unless  when  a  small  force  could  be  suddenly  attacked  by  a 
larger  one.  The  Indians  have  seldom  been  willing  to  meet  a  large  regular  force  in 
the  field ;  they  have  always  preferred  the  guerilla  system. 

After  Philip's  flight  from  Pocasset  the  war  assumed  a  fiercer  character.  No 
agricultural  labor  could  be  pursued  ;  every  clump  of  bushes  hid  an  enemy,  and  every 
fence  and  wall  covered  an  ambuscade.  The  Nipmucks,  who  had  heretofore  occupied 


WAR   OF  RACES— EARLY  COLONIAL  HISTORY.  133 

a  doubtful  position,  now  commenced  open  hostilities,  spreading  the  alarm  westward. 
At  Lancaster  a  man  and  his  wife  were  killed  on  the  Lord's  day.  Non-combatant 
Indians  were  arrested  and  committed  for  trial ;  and  no  Indian  was  safe  from  the  sus 
picion  of  treachery,  no  matter  how  good  his  conduct  had  previously  been,  except 
those  of  the  communities  of  praying  Indians,  and  even  they  were  closely  watched. 
A  short  time  subsequent  to  the  alarm  at  Lancaster  a  detachment  of  soldiers  was  sent 
out  to  make  reconnoissauccs  as  far  as  Hadlcy. 

The  authoritk-s  at  Boston  still  entertaining  the  idea  that  the  Niptnuck*  could  be 
restrained  by  negotiation,  the  latter  agreed  to  meet  commissioners  at  Brookfield,  but 
it  proved  to  be  a  mere  ruse  on  the  part  of  the  Indians.  The  officers  sent  thither 
were  accompanied  by  twenty  horsemen,  and  were  joined  on  the  route  by  a  con 
siderable  number  of  the  citizen  soldiery.  Finding  no  Indians  there,  they  marched, 
on  August  2,  four  or  five  miles  farther,  to  a  narrow  defile,  flanked  by  a  swamp, 
where  three  hundred  Indians  rose  from  an  ambuscade  and  poured  upon  them 
a  heavy  fire.  Eight  of  the  men  were  killed  by  the  first  discharge,  and  the  com 
mander,  Captain  Edward  Hutchinson,  as  well  as  several  others,  was  wounded.  They 
then  retreated  to  Brookfield,  whither  they  were  pursued  by  the  Indians,  who  set  the 
town  on  fire  in  several  places.  The  inhabitants  retired  to  a  log  house,  slightly  forti 
fied,  where  they  defended  themselves.  The  Indians  surrounded  it,  keeping  up  an 
incessant  fire,  and  attempted  to  burn  it  by  discharging  blazing  arrows  upon  it,  and 
by  thrusting  combustibles  against  it,  placed  on  the  ends  of  long  poles.  They  then 
filled  a  cart  with  hemp,  and,  setting  it  on  fire,  backed  it  up  to  the  house.  Had  this 
effort  succeeded,  seventy  men,  women,  and  children,  who  were  huddled  together 
within,  would  have  been  roasted  alive,  but  fortunately  a  shower  of  rain,  which  fell  at 
this  moment,  extinguished  the  flames.  The  Indians  were  eventually  frightened  off 
by  the  reported  arrival  of  reinforcements,  which  they  supposed  to  l)e  very  large  from 
their  being  preceded  by  a  drove  of  frightened  cattle.  Only  one  man  was  killed  and 
one  wounded  in  this  siege. 

The  affair  was  scarcely  over  when  four  separate  bodies  of  troops,  under  different 
commanders,  reached  Brookfield.  But  the  Indians  had  fled  westward,  effecting  a 
union  with  the  Pocumtucks  at  Deerfield  and  at  Northfield.  Being  pursued  in  that 
direction,  a  battle  was  fought  on  August  25  near  Sugar-Loaf  Hill,  in  which  nine 
English  and  twenty-six  Indians  fell ;  the  rest  of  the  Indians  then  joined  Philip's 
forces.  Hadley  was  now  occupied  by  the  troops,  the  natives  in  the  vicinity  having 
begun  to  show  a  hostile  disposition  and  to  menace  the  towns  above  it  in  the  Connec 
ticut  Valley.  On  the  1st  of  September  (1675)  they  attacked  Deerfield,  burned  most 
of  the  houses,  and  killed  one  man.  Next  day  nine  or  ten  men  were  killed  by  them 
in  the  woods  at  Northfield.  On  September  3  a  reinforcement  of  thirty-six  mounted 
infantry,  with  a  convoy  of  provisions  for  the  garrison  at  Northfield,  fell  into  an 
Indian  ambuscade  within  two  miles  of  their  destination,  Beers,  the  commander,  with 
sixteen  men,  being  killed,  and  the  baggage  and  wounded  captured  by  the  enemy. 
The  place  is  to  this  day  called  Beere's  Plain,  and  the  hill  where  the  captain  fell, 
Beers's  Mountain. 

• 


THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

On  the  18th  of  September  a  force  of  eighty  men,  convoying  a  train  of  teams 
loaded  with  grain,  left  Deerfield  to  proceed  to  Hadley,  but  while  passing  through  a 
dense  forest  in  the  vicinity  of  a  place  called  Bloody  Brook  (now  South  Deerfield), 
some  seven  hundred  Indians,  who  had  been  screened  from  view  by  the  bushes  of  a 
morass,  rushed  furiously  upon  them.  The  troops,  being  thrown  into  complete  con 
fusion,  broke  ranks,  and  attempted  to  fight  the  enemy  from  behind  trees,  in  their 
own  customary  manner.  But  it  was  to  no  purpose :  they  suffered  an  utter  and  most 
appalling  defeat,  Captain  I^athrop  and  seventy-one  men,  including  the  teamsters, 
being  slain.  The  firing  being  heard  at  Deerfield,  four  or  five  nailer  distant,  rein 
forcements  under  Captain  Moseley  and  Major  Treat  were  hurried  forward,  bat  did 
not  reach  the  scene  until  after  the  close  of  the  action,  when  the  victors  were  engaged 
in  stripping  the  dead  and  mangling  their  bodies.  Rushing  on  boldly,  without 
breaking  their  ranks,  the  Deerfield  men  drove  the  enemy  from  the  field,  killing 
many  of  them.  The  loss  of  the  Indians  in  the  several  actions  fought  on  this  day  is 
reported  to  have  been  quite  heavy. 

It  is  to  be  inferred  that  in  these  systematic  attacks  Philip  himself  was  either  the 
leader  or  the  inciting  spirit  of  the  Indians.  Throughout  a  large  extent  of  country 
the  Indians  were  actuated  by  one  motive  and  one  policy ;  for,  like  his  own  fabled 
Hobbamok,  Philip  appeared  to  be  ubiquitous,  shifting  his  position  with  inconceivable 
rapidity  from  one  point  to  another.  From  information  subsequently  obtained,  he  is 
believed  to  have  led  the  attack  at  Bloody  Brook.  The  following  day  he  displayed 
his  forces  in  numbers  on  the  west  banks  of  the  Connecticut,  near  Deerfield,  which 
was  garrisoned  by  only  twenty-seven  men.  This  circumstance  led  to  the  abandon 
ment  of  that  post,  as  being  too  distant  to  secure  proper  support,  and  it  was  soon  after 
destroyed  by  the  enemy. 

Emboldened  by  these  successes,  the  Indians  in  the  vicinity  of  Springfield  attacked 
that  town  on  October  5,  killed  an  officer  and  one  man  who" were  out  reconnoitring, 
and  burned  thirty-two  dwelling-houses,  including  the  minister's,  with  his  valuable 
library,  as  also  twenty-five  barns,  including  their  contents, — a  loss  which  reduced  the 
inhabitants  to  great  straits  during  the  winter.  Fortunately,  the  intentions  of  the 
enemy  had  been  disclosed  by  a  friendly  Indian,  so  that  the  people  were  able  to  take 
refuge  in  their  fortified  houses  and  thus  save  themselves  from  a  general  massacre. 

Flushed  with  his  triumphs,  Philip  ascended  the  valley  with  the  determination  of 
attacking  the  English  head-quarters.  On  the  19th  of  October  he  appeared  with  seven 
or  eight  hundred  warriors  near  the  town  of  Hatfield,  and,  having  cut  oil'  several 
scouting-parties  in  the  woods,  made  a  rapid  attack  on  the  town  from  various  quarters. 
It  was  defended  with  great  resolution,  having  been  reinforced  a  short  time  previous, 
and  after  a  severe  contest  Philip  was  compelled  to  withdraw  his  forces.  This  he 
effected  during  the  night,  not  without  some  confusion,  as  he  was  encumbered  with 
his  dead  and  wounded.  He  also  lost  some  of  his  guns  in  the  river.  He  succeeded, 
however,  in  firing  several  dwellings,  which  were  consumed,  and  in  driving  off  a 
number  of  cattle  and  sheep  belonging  to  the  colonists. 

Autumn  now  drawing  to  a  close,  it  became  necessary  for  the  large  mass  of  the 


WAR   OF  RACES— EARLY  COLONIAL  HISTORY.  135 

Indians  to  disperse  to  places  where  they  could  readily  obtain  their  wonted  supplies. 
Philip  had  determined  to  pass  the  winter  with  the  Narragansetts,  hut  in  a  short  time 
his  guerilla  parties  were  kept  busy  on  the  waters  of  the  Connecticut.  Late  in 
October  some  unprotected  teams  near  Northampton  were  attacked,  three  men  were 
killed  in  a  meadow  near  that  town,  and  the  Indians  attempted  to  burn  a  mill.  Three 
men  were  also  killed  between  Springfield  and  Westfield,  and  four  houses  were  burned 
at  the  latter  place.  Other  depredations  were  committed  at  Longmeadow,  and  likewise 
at  Springfield. 

While  the  knife,  club,  gun,  and  incendiary  brand  were  thus  actively  wielded 
on  the  waters  of  the  Connecticut,  Philip's  warriors  were  busy  in  the  east  and  south 
east  Two  separate  companies  of  militia  marched  from  Boston  and  Cambridge  to 
repress  Indian  hostilities  at  Mendon,  Groton,  and  other  places.  In  effecting  this, 
several  encounters  occurred,  in  one  of  which  an  officer  named  Curtis  and  one 
soldier  fell.  A  considerable  quantity  of  corn  was  destroyed,  and  one  captive  was 
released. 

Prior  to  the  last-mentioned  action  an  affair  occurred  at  Wrentham.  One  of  the 
colonists,  having  one  evening  discovered  a  party  of  Indians  on  their  inarch,  silently 
followed  their  trail,  and  saw  them  encamp  near  a  precipice.  Returning  and  giving 
immediate  notice  of  his  observations,  thirteen  men  accompanied  him  to  the  8]K>t, 
where  they  concealed  themselves  until  the  Indians  arose  at  daybreak,  when  they 
fired  upon  them,  and,  driving  them  over  the  precipice,  killed  twenty-four.  The 
rest  effected  their  escape. 

Without  the  details  being  given,  it  is  impossible  to  conceive  the  harassing  nature 
of  this  war.  The  English  were  ever  on  the  alert,  ever  vigilant,  active,  brave,  and 
enterprising.  They  were  ready  at  a  moment's  warning  to  pursue  the  enemy  and 
retaliate  his  attacks,  and  whenever  they  suffered  defeat  it  was  owing  to  their  impulsive 
bravery  and  a  disposition  to  underrate  and  despise  their  enemy.  This  induced  them 
to  make  rash  movements,  in  which  they  frequently  neglected  the  ordinary  rules  of 
military  caution.  Bodies  of  men  were  suddenly  aroused  and  marched  boldly  into 
the  forests  and  defilcG  without  sending  out  scouts  to  ascertain  the  j>osition  of  the  foe. 
Besides,  it  always  required  a  large  force  to  watch  a  smaller  one,  when  the  latter  were 
secreted  in  the  woods,  ready  to  spring  upon  them  when  least  expected. 

Indian  history  demonstrates  that  in  this  guerilla  warfare  the  advantage  is  gener 
ally  at  first  on  the  side  of  the  natives,  who  are  more  intimately  acquainted  with  tin- 
local  geography  as  well  as  with  the  natural  resources  of  a  wilderness  country,  and 
also  with  their  own  capacity  for  endurance,  which  circumstances  generally  deter 
mine  their  mode  of  attack  and  defence.  Solid  columns  of  men,  encumbered  with 
.  heavy  baggage  and  a  commissariat,  when  marching  through  a  forest  must  necessarily 
progress  slowly.  They  soon  become  fatigued  and  harassed  by  their  encumbrances, 
while  the  light-footed  Indians  dart  around  them  and  before  them,  like  the  hawk 
toying  with  its  prey,  until  a  suitable  opportunity  occurs  for  them  to  strike.  If  it 
be  merely  a  war  of  skirmishes  and  surprises,  this  is  their  favorite  and  generally 
successful  mode  of  attack.  Another  error  committed  by  the  whites  in  this  war  was 


136  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

the  employment  of  a  multiplicity  of  separate  commanders,  frequently  exercising 
discordant  powers  and  lacking  unity  of  action. 

The  good  sense  of  the  commissioners  of  the  New  England  colonies,  now  confed 
erated  for  defence,  convinced  the  country  of  this.  The  war  had  been  in  progress 
scarcely  three-fourths  of  a  year,  during  which  time  many  valuable  lives  had  been 
lost  by  Indian  ambuscades  and  a  large  amount  of  property  had  been  destroyed. 
Although  the  settlers  were  kept  in  a  state  of  perpetual  alarm,  no  effective  blow  had 
been  struck ;  nothing,  in  fact,  had  been  done  to  subdue  the  daring  spirit  of  the 
Indians,  and  their  entire  force  was  still  in  motion.  .  In  a  council  held  at  Boston  it 
was  determined,  therefore,  to  adopt  more  general  and  effective  measures  for  the  pros 
ecution  of  the  ensuing  campaign.  Agreeably  to  a  scale  then  established,  Massachu 
setts  colony  was  directed  to  furnish  five  hundred  and  twenty-seven  men ;  Plymouth 
colony,  one  hundred  and  fifty-eight ;  and  Connecticut,  which  now  included  the  New 
Haven  colony,  three  hundred  and  fifteen ;  making  a  total  force  of  one  thousand  men. 

It  was  subsequently  determined  to  fit  out  a  separate  expedition  against  the  Nar- 
ragansetts,  whose  hostility  to  the  colonies  and  complicity  with  Philip  could  no  longer 
be  doubted.  They  were  designated  as  the  first  object  of  attack.  One  thousand  men 
were  also  mustered  for  this  service,  officered  by  experienced  captains,  and  placed 
under  the  command  of  Josiah  Winslow.  Advanced  as  the  season  was  (December 
8),  this  force  was  marched  in  separate  bodies  through  Seekonk  and  Providence 
and  over  the  Patuxent  River  to  Wickford,  the  place  of  rendezvous.  On  the  route  a 
system  of  wanton  destruction  of  person  and  property  was  carried  out,  it  being  their 
design  to  make  the  Indians  feel  the  effects  of  the  war.  The  latter,  being  apprised  of 
the  movement,  burned  Pettiquamscott,  killing  fifteen  of  the  inhabitants,  and  con 
centrated  their  forces  on  an  elevation,  several  acres  in  extent,  surrounded  on  all  sides 
by  a  swamp, — a  position  located  in  the  present  township  of  South  Kingstown,  Rhode 
Island. 

At  this  place  they  had  fortified  themselves  by  a  formidable  structure  of  palisades, 
surrounded  by  a  close  hedge  curtain,  or  rude  abatis,  leaving  but  one  passage  to  it, 
which  led  across  a  brook  and  was  formed  of  a  single  log,  elevated  four  or  five  feet 
above  the  surface  of  the  water.  At  another  point  of  the  fortification  was  a  low  gap, 
closed  by  logs  four  or  five  feet  high,  which  could  be  scaled.  Close  by  was  a  block 
house  to  defend  and  enfilade  this  weak  point  The  whole  work  was  ingeniously 
constructed,  and  well  adapted  to  the  Indian  mode  of  defence.  The  authorities  do 
not  mention  that  Philip  was  present,  but  there  appears  to  be  no  doubt  that  he  had 
given  every  aid  in  his  power  to  his  allies.  It  was  a  death-struggle  for  the  Narra- 
gansetts,  and  their  fate  would  determine  his,  for  they  were  far  superior  to  his  people 
in  numbers. 

By  the  destruction  of  Pettiquamscott  and  its  little  garrison,  the  troops  composing 
Winslow's  army,  who  had  expected  to  take  up  their  quarters  there,  were  deprived 
of  all  shelter.  They  had  no  tents,  and  were  consequently  obliged  to  pass  a  very 
uncomfortable  night  in  the  open  air.  It  was  late  in  December,  and  bitter  cold,  with 
snow  on  the  ground.  The  Connecticut  forces  having  joined  him  on  the  18th,  on  the 


WAR   OF  RACES— EARLY  COLONIAL  HISTORY.  137 

next  day  Winslow  put  his  army,  now  amounting  to  fifteen  hundred  men,  in  motion 
at  an  early  hour,  as  they  had  eighteen  miles  to  march  through  deep  snow.  Captains 
Moseley  and  Davenport  led  the  van,  Gardner  and  Johnson  the  centre,  and  Major 
Appleton  and  Captain  Oliver  the  rear  of  the  Massachusetts  forces ;  the  Plymouth 
men,  under  Major  Bradford  and  Captain  Gorham,  with  whom  was  General  Winslow, 
marched  in  the  centre ;  while  the  Connecticut  troops,  under  Major  Treat  and  Cap 
tains  Seely,  Gallup,  Mason,  Watts,  and  Marshall,  brought  up  the  rear.  At  one 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  guided  by  an  Indian,  they  reached  the  vicinity  of  the 
swamp,  where  a  party  of  the  enemy  had  been  stationed  as  a  corps  of  observation. 
These  were  immediately  attacked,  but  fled  to  their  citadel.  A  detachment,  com 
prising  four  companies,  immediately  rushed  through  the  swamp  at  a  venture,  and 
accidentally  reached  the  log  gap,  which  they  began  to  scale,  but  they  were  compelled 
to  fall  back  before  the  destructive  fire  from  the  Indian  block-house.  They  were 
reinforced  by  two  other  companies,  when,  pressing  gallantly  forward,  they  scaled  the 
log  sally-port  and  entered  the  fort,  maintaining  themselves  in  their  position  under  a 
terrible  fire. 

While  victory  thus  hung  in  suspense,  the  remainder  of  the  army  succeeded  in 
crossing  the  swamp,  and  entered  the  works  at  the  same  gap,  after  which  the  contest 
was  maintained  with  great  obstinacy  during  three  hours.  The  Indians  had  con 
structed  coverts  in  such  a  manner  that  the  place  could  be  taken  only  in  detail.1 
Driven  from  one  covert  after  another,  the  savages  kept  up  a  galling  fire,  reso 
lutely  contesting  every  inch  of  ground.  At  length  they  were  compelled  to  abandon 
the  fort  and  effect  their  retreat  by  the  log  gate,  across  the  narrow  bridge,  which, 
though  well  adapted  to  the  use  of  Indians,  must  have  proved  a  difficult  passage  to 
the  English.  During  the  contest  it  was  observed  that  a  large  body  of  the  Indians  had 
assembled  behind  a  certain  part  of  the  fort,  whence  they  kept  up  a  most  annoying 
fire.  Captain  Church,  the  aide  of  General  Winslow,  having  the  command  of  a  vol 
unteer  company,  led  them  out  against  these  Indian  flankers,  whom  he  silenced  or 
dispersed,  when,  charging  again  with  great  gallantry,  he  re-entered  the  fort  through 
the  oft-contested  gap,  driving  the  Indians  before  him.  He  encountered  them  on 
every  side,  hunted  from  their  coverts,  and  falling  fast  before  the  English  musketry. 
The  Narragansetts  finally  gave  up  the  struggle  and  fled  into  the  wilderness. 

Six  hundred  lodges  were  found  in  this  fortified  enclosure.  It  was  in  the  winter 
season,  and  the  natives  placed  great  reliance  on  the  strength  of  their  position,  as 
well  as  on  the  English  custom  of  suspending  war  operations  during  the  winter 
UK  nit  hs ;  therefore  the  Narragansetts  had  conveyed  their  women  and  children  to  this 
place  for  shelter.  It  has  been  stated,  and  there  is  no  reason  to  doubt  it,  that  some 
of  the  most  bold  and  reckless  of  the  English  officers  had  been  formerly  sea-captains, 
and  probably  buccaneers  in  the  West  Indies.  Nothing  short  of  the  diabolical  spirit 
innate  in  men  of  that  class  could  have  suggested  the  cruel  scene  that  followed  the 
flight  of  the  warriors.  The  wigwams,  containing  the  aged  and  superannuated,  the 

1  This  reveals  the  object  of  pits  and  ditches  inside  of  our  antiquarian  remains  of  fortifications  in  the  West. 

II.— 18 


138  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

•wounded  who  were  unable  to  escape,  and  about  three  hundred  women  and  children, 
were  set  on  fire.  The  miserable  inmates  ran  shrieking  in  every  direction  as  the 
flames  advanced,  but,  there  being  no  chance  for  flight,  they  were  all  consumed  in  this 
inhuman  holocaust 

The  Indians  who  escaped  took  shelter  in  a  swamp  near  by,  where  they  passed  the 
night  in  the  snow,  and  where  many  of  their  number  died  from  exposure  and  the 
want  of  both  fire  and  food.  The  Narragansotts  afterwards  asserted  that  they  lost 
about  seven  hundred  warriors  at  the  fort,  besides  three  hundred  who  subsequently 
died  of  their  wounds.  The  entire  number  assembled  at  the  fort  has  been  computed 
at  four  thousand,  and  if  we  allow  but  five  persons  to  a  lodge  it  would  sum  up  a  total 
of  eight  hundred  families. 

The  conflagration  of  the  lodges,  after  the  Indian  warriors  had  fled,  was  not 
merely  unnecessary,  cruel,  and  inhuman,  but  it  was  also  an  unwise  measure  on  the 
part  of  General  Winslow,  for  the  Indian  wigwams  might  have  afforded  shelter 
during  the  night  for  the  wounded  and  exhausted  soldiery.  But  the  English  were 
themselves  driven  out  by  the  flames,  and  were  compelled  to  retrace  their  way  through 
a  severe  snow-storm,  carrying  with  them  many  of  their  dead  and  wounded.  The 
intensity  of  the  cold,  added  to  the  pangs  of  hunger,  occasioned  the  death  of  many 
of  the  latter,  whom  ordinary  care  might  have  saved.  They  reached  the  desolate  site 
of  Pettiquamscott  after  midnight,  and  the  following  day  thirty-four  of  their  number 
were  buried  at  that  place  in  one  grave.  Many  were  severely  frost-bitten,  and  four 
hundred  were  so  much  disabled  as  to  be  unfit  for  duty.  Had  the  Indians  rallied  and 
attacked  them  at  Pettiquamscott,  not  over  four  hundred  of  the  army  could  have 
handled  a  gun  or  a  sword.  Eighty-five  of  the  English  were  killed  in  the  storming 
of  the  fort,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  wounded,  including  eight  captains  and  several 
subalterns. 

This  severe  blow  crippled  the  power  of  the  Narragansetts,  but  did  not  humble 
them.  On  the  contrary,  the  survivors  cherished  the  most  intense  hatred  against  the 
English,  from  this  period  becoming  the  open  and  fearless  allies  of  Philip ;  and  the 
majority  of  them,  under  Canonchet,  a  short  time  subsequently  joined  the  Nipmucks, 
and  Philip's  allies,  near  Deerfield  and  Northfield.  Driven  from  their  villages  and 
their  country,  they  turned  their  backs  on  their  once  happy  homes  with  a  feeling  akin 
to  that  which  had  at  a  prior  period  animated  Sassacus.  It  might  naturally  be  sup 
posed  that  many  of  them  must  have  suffered  greatly  from  want  of  food ;  but  the 
forests  were  still  filled  with  game,  and  they  also  frequently  seized  the  cattle  which 
were  straying  about  on  the  borders  of  the  settlements.  Early  in  February,  1676, 
they  made  a  descent  upon  Lancaster,  which  they  burned,  and  captured  forty-two  per 
sons  ;  and  a  short  time  thereafter  they  killed  twenty  of  the  inhabitants  of  Medfield, 
at  the  same  time  burning  half  the  town.  Seven  or  eight  buildings  shared  the  same 
fate  in  Wey  mouth.  On  the  13th  of  March,  four  fortified  houses  were  reduced  to 
ashes  in  Groton.  Five  houses  were  burned  and  five  persons  killed  at  Northampton, 
whence  the  Indians  were  repulsed,  losing  several  of  their  number.  A  few  days  later, 
Warwick,  in  Rhode  Island,  was  burned,  and  before  the  close  of  the  month  the  largest 


WAR   OF  RACES— EARLY  COLONIAL  HISTORY.  139 

portion  of  the  town  of  Murlborough  was  likewise  consumed,  and  the  town  deserted 
by  its  inhabitants.  On  March  27  about  forty  Sudbury  men  surprised  and  attacked 
in  the  night  three  hundred  Indians,  killing  thirty  of  them. 

The  Indians  had  been  taught  the  efficacy  of  fire  by  their  bitter  experience  at 
Kingstown  fort,  and  they  soon  became  expert  in  using  it  against  the  English.  The 
torch  was  now  their  most  potent  weapon.  This  novel  mode  of  warfare  created  such 
a  panic  that  a  large  force  was  kept  on  the  alert  both  day  and  night.  Before  the 
depredations  could  be  checked  in  one  direction,  they  were  duplicated  at  another  and, 
frequently,  distant  point.  On  March  2G,  Captain  Pierce,  of  Scituate,  and  fifty  men, 
together  with  twenty  Cape  Cod  Indians,  falling  into  an  ambuscade  at  Pawtucket, 
were  suddenly  attacked  and  almost  entirely  annihilated,  after  having  slain  a  much 
larger  number  of  the  enemy.  Two  days  subsequently,  forty  dwelling-houses  and 
thirty  barns  were  burned  at  Rehoboth,  and  the  next  day  thirty  more  were  destroyed 
at  Providence.  Eleven  persons  were  killed  and  their  bodies  consumed  in  the  flames 
of  one  house  at  Plymouth.  Chelmsford,  Andover,  and  Marlborough  suffered  by  the 
torch  early  in  April. 

The  Indian  army  which  committed  these  depredations  numbered  some  five 
hundred  men.  Finding  that  they  were  not  closely  pursued  after  their  attack  upon 
Sudbury,  they  encamped  in  the  neighboring  forest.  Meantime,  a  force  of  seventy 
men,  under  Captain  Wadsworth,  who  were  marching  to  protect  other  towns,  learning 
that  a  body  of  Indians  was  concealed  in  the  woods  near  Sudbury,  determined  to  find 
them.  Seeing  a  small  number  of  the  enemy  returning,  they  instantly  started  in 
pursuit  of  them,  and  were  thus  led  into  an  ambush,  from  which  the  entire  force  of 
the  Indians  issued  and  commenced  a  fierce  attack.  Flight  being  out  of  the  question, 
the  English  fought  bravely,  and  finally  gained  an  eminence.  But  nothing  could 
withstand  such  numerical  odds,  and  Wadsworth  and  above  fifty  of  his  command 
Avere  killed.  The  same  day  a  provision-train  was  attacked  in  Brookfield,  and  three 
men  killed  or  captured.  This  day,  April  21,  is  memorable  as  the  last  great  success 
of  Philip.  The  ire  of  the  Indians  was  next  directed  against  the  old  Plymouth 
colony,  which  they  hated  on  account  of  its  having  been  the  nucleus  of  the  colonists. 
Nineteen  buildings  were  burned  at  Scituate,  seventeen  at  Bridgewater,  and  eleven 
houses  and  five  barns  in  Plymouth  itself.  A  short  time  subsequently,  several  build 
ings  were  consumed  at  Nemaskct  (Middlcborough).  Very  few  persons  were  killed 
in  these  depredations,  but  the  Indian  firebrand  was  constantly  in  operation  against 
every  isolated  house  or  unguarded  village.  Marauding  parties  stealthily  traversed 
miles  of  territory  every  night,  and  no  man  could  step  out  into  his  field  to  look  at  his 
farm  or  stock  without  incurring  the  danger  of  being  pierced  by  the  swift-winged 
arrow  or  the  unerring  ball  of  a  savage  foe.  The  hills  and  valleys  of  New  England 
resounded  anew  with  the  terrible  war-whoop. 

While  the  eastern  townships  thus  presented  a  scene  of  universal  devastation,  the 
English  inhabitants  on  the  western  borders  experienced  but  little  disturbance  from 
the  Indians.  But  when  the  latter  wei-e  driven  from  the  eastern  section,  they  com 
menced  a  series  of  attacks  by  night  and  by  day  on  the  scattered  settlements  of  the 


140  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

west  To  repress  these  outrages,  Massachusetts  and  Plymouth  sent  a  considerable 
force  into  that  quarter. 

After  the  storming  of  his  principal  fort  in  the  swamp  of  South  Kingstown,  Ca 
nonchet,  the  reigning  chieftain  of  the  Narragansetts,  fled  to  another  strong  position, 
hut  there  is  no  evidence  that  defeat  had  humbled  him.  His  grandfather,  Canonicus, 
had  been  the  ruling  chief  of  his  tribe,  and  had  sold  Aquidneck,  now  Rhode  Island, 
to  the  English.  Canonicus's  son,  Miantonomo,  equally  noted  for  his  politic  char 
acter  and  his  personal  bravery,  had  acted  a  distinguished  part  in  the  war  which 
followed  the  overthrow  of  the  Pequots.  Canonchet  himself  could  look  back  to  no 
period  of  the  Narragansett  history  which  did  not  afford  him  cause  for  pride.  \Vhat- 
ever  course  his  reflections  took,  he  appears  only  to  have  been  hardened  in  feeling, 
and  more  than  ever  incited  to  hatred  of  the  English,  by  the  contest  with  "Winslow. 

As  spring  advanced,  he  issued  from  his  place  of  retreat,  and,  accompanied  by  a 
party,  came  to  Seekonk  to  procure  seed-corn  for  planting.  This  movement  was 
revealed  by  two  Indian  wo.iien  who  were  captured,  and  who  also  informed  the 
colonists  that  his  place  of  refuge  was  on  Black  River.  Some  Connecticut  soldiers, 
under  Captain  George  Denison,  who  happened  to  be  in  the  vicinity  at  the  time, 
proceeded  to  make  search  for  him,  and  succeeded  in  finding  some  of  his  party.  They 
then  immediately  scattered,  with  the  view  of  intercepting  him,  each  squad  taking  a 
different  route.  Canonchet  had  adopted  a  similar  policy,  dividing  his  followers  into 
separate  parties.  Forty-four  of  his  men  were  killed  or  taken,  Denison  not  losing  a 
man.  The  sachem  was  seen  by  a  person  who  recognized  him,  and  hotly  pursued. 
In  order  to  expedite  his  flight,  he  threw  off  his  laced  coat  and  wampum  belt,  and 
would  have  escaped  had  he  not  made  a  false  step  and  fallen  into  the  water,  wetting 
his  gun.  A  swift-footed  Pequot,  who  was  in  the  English  army,  immediately  seized 
and  held  him  until  some  of  the  soldiers  arrived.  He  was  desired  to  indicate  his 
submission,  but  refused,  maintaining  both  in  his  air  and  in  his  manner  a  proud, 
unconquered  aspect,  and  disdaining  to  make  any  answers  compromising  his  honor. 

He  was  taken  under  a  strong  guard  to  Stonington,  where  he  was  allowed  the 
formality  of  a  trial.  This  local  tribunal  condemned  him  to  be  shot,  which  sentence 
was  executed  by  the  Mohicans  and  Pequots.  <'  I  like  it  well,"  said  the  proud  chief 
tain,  when  iniormed  what  was  to  be  his  fate.  "  I  shall  die  before  I  speak  anything 
unworthy  of  myself." 

With  Canonchet  the  Narragansett  power  in  reality  expired,  and  his  people  were 
all  driven  out  of  the  country,  except  those  under  Ninigret,  at  what  is  now  known  as 
Westerly,  Rhode  Island.  The  Narragansett  nation  had  doubtless  produced  greater 
chiefs  than  Canonchet,  but  none  who  had  possessed  a  higher  or  a  firmer  sense  of  his 
power  and  authority,  or  who  had  entertained  a  greater  repugnance  to  the  influx  of 
the  English  race.  Canonicus  dreaded  the  approach  of  the  foreign  race,  but  he  saw 
some  advantages  in  that  commerce  which  supplied  a  market  for  what  the  natives 
could  most  easily  procure,  and  which  furnished  them  with  articles  of  which  they 
stood  in  need.  These  circumstances,  coupled  with  the  influence  of  Roger  Williams, 
induced  him  to  adopt  a  conservative  course,  and  to  prevent  his  tribe  from  committing 


WAR   OF  RACES— EARLY  COLONIAL  HISTORY.  141 

hostile  act?.  His  son,  Miantonomo,  was  greatly  his  superior,  both  in  mental  and  in 
personal  endowments,  but  he  possessed  a  fiery,  ungovernable  spirit.  Impatient  under 
the  pressure  of  wrongs  that  he  could  not  redress,  he  was  too  eager  to  avenge  injuries 
received  from  his  kinsmen,  the  Mohicans,  by  a  sudden,  impulsive  movement,  the 
object  of  which  might  have  been  attained  by  more  deliberation.  His  death  on 
Sachem's  Plain  is  not  remarkable  as  an  act  of  savage  cruelty,  but  it  affords  a  clear 
proof  of  the  crafty  policy  of  the  colonial  authorities.  An  Indian  hand  was  made  to 
strike  the  executionary  blow  which  Indian  clemency  or  diplomacy  had  withheld. 
Canonchet,  also,  as  we  have  seen,  fell  by  the  same  questionable  system. 

Winter  is  not  usually  a  season  of  warfare  among  the  forest  Indians,  who  can  be 
traced  in  the  snow,  and  cannot  camp  without  fires,  but  where  the  plunder  of  barns 
and  cattle  is  at  hand  to  afford  them  sustenance  the  rule  is  violated.  Philip  resolved 
that  neither  cold  nor  hunger  should  stay  his  onset;  he  had  engaged  in  a  death- 
struggle  with  New  England,  and  it  may  truly  be  said  that  she  never  had  to  cope  with 
another  enemy  so  energetic  and  desperate  as  he. 

After  the  capture  of  Canonchet,  the  party  which  had  been  led  by  him  fled  in  the 
direction  of  Deerfield  and  Northfield,  in  which  vicinity  Philip's  Indians  had  been 
for  some  time  collected,  committing  depredations  on  the  inhabitants.  Philip  made 
this  part  of  the  country  his  head-quarters,  and,  according  to  accounts  then  current, 
he  had  received  countenance  from  the  French  in  Canada,  who  had  sent,  and  continued 
to  send,  Indian  marauding  parties  into  this  part  of  the  Connecticut  Valley.  He  had 
himself  visited  Canada,  and  he  purposed,  in  case  of  final  defeat,  to  retire  into  that 
province.  A  Natick  Indian  who  had  been  sent  out  as  a  spy  reported  that  Philip 
had  visited  Albany  to  obtain  assistance  from  the  Mohawks.  The  Mohawks  might 
have  been  inclined  to  aid  him,  but  for  a  piece  of  treachery  which  unexpectedly  came 
to  light.  Philip's  men  had  killed  a  few  Mohawk  hunters  on  their  hunting-grounds 
in  the  Connecticut  Valley,  and  the  chief  had  adroitly  laid  the  blame  on  the  English. 
But  one  of  the  men  supposed  to  be  dead  had  recovered,  and  revealed  the  true  state 
of  the  case. 

It  soon  became  evident  that  Philip  entertained  no  idea  of  giving  up  the  contest, 
but  was  preparing  to  carry  on  the  campaign  of  1676  with  renewed  vigor.  As  the 
spring  advanced,  his  central  position  appeared  to  be  at  or  about  Turner's  Falls,  on 
the  Connecticut,  then  a  noted  locality  for  the  catching  of  shad  and  other  species  of 
fish  abounding  in  this  river.  At  Longmeadow,  on  the  26th  of  March,  an  armed 
cavalcade,  while  proceeding  to  church,  was  attacked,  and  two  men  killed  and  a 
number  wounded.  On  another  similar  occasion  two  women  and  their  children 
became  so  much  frightened  that  they  fell  from  their  horses  and  were  dragged  by  the 
Indians  into  a  swamp.  These  affairs,  with  many  others  of  a  similar  character,  in 
which  men  were  killed  on  both  sides,  rendered  it  clear  that  Philip's  main  force 
harbored  in  this  vicinity,  and  thither,  therefore,  the  English  troops  were  marched, 
corps  after  corps,  both  horse  and  foot,  under  approved  leaders,  until  the  force  swelled 
to  a  considerable  number.  The  Indians  were  camped  around  the  falls  on  both  banks 
in  detached  bodies,  and  were  also  congregated  on  its  cliffs  and  on  the  neighboring 


142  fOE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

islands.  As  the  English  force  in  this  quarter  was  not  at  the  outset  very  numerous, 
the  Indians  were  not  in  much  fear,  and  consequently  became  careless.  Two  captives 
who  had  escaped  reported  this  supineness  and  described  their  position.  About  one 
hundred  and  sixty  mounted  men  marched  for  the  falls,  under  Captain  Turner,  whose 
gallantry  was  commemorated  by  giving  to  the  place  his  name.  They  were  joined  by 
militia  from  Springfield  and  Northampton,  and  then  led  by  skilful  guides  to  within 
half  a  mile  of  the  spot,  where  Turner  dismounted  his  men  and  fastened  his  horses, 
leaving  a  small  guard  to  protect  them.  Having  been  previously  joined  by  parties 
under  the  command  of  Holyoke  and  Lyman,  the  whole  force  proceeded  with  silence 
and  caution  toward  the  Indian  camp.  Day  had  not  yet  dawned,  and  the  enemy, 
deeming  themselves  secure,  kept  no  watch.  They  were  yet  asleep,  and  scattered 
around  at  several  points,  mostly  above  the  falls,  where  the  river  poured  at  one  leap 
over  a  precipice  of  forty  feet.  A  well-directed  fire  gave  them  the  first  indication 
that  the  detested  English,  shouting  "  Mohawks !"  were  upon  them.  Seizing  their 
arms,  they  fought  distractedly.  A  large  number  of  them  leaped  into  their  canoes  to 
cross  the  river,  some  of  which,  having  no  paddles,  were  soon  swept  over  the  falls,  and 
all  who  were  in  them,  with  one  exception,  drowned.  It  is  estimated  that  the  entire 
loss  of  the  Indians  was  three  hundred  warriors.  One  hundred  and  forty  were  swept 
over  the  falls,  only  one  of  whom  was  saved.  Those  who  succeeded  in  escaping  across 
the  river  joined  the  others  in  their  flight.  It  was  a  complete  surprise  and  a  disastrous 
defeat  The  slaughter  was  so  great  that  one  hundred  dead  were  counted  on  the  field. 

After  their  flight  the  Indians  again  rallied,  crossed  below  the  falls,  and  attacked 
the  guard  which  had  been  left  with  the  horses.  An  Indian  captive  reported  that 
Philip  had  arrived  with  a  reinforcement  of  one  thousand  men.  This  news  produced 
a  panic,  and  a  separation  of  the  English  forces.  A  thickly-wooded  morass  flanked 
the  left  banks  of  the  falls,  extending  nearly  to  Green  River.  Those  who  retreated 
by  this  route  were  subjected  to  repeated  attacks,  and  one  of  the  parties  which  at 
tempted  to  cross  it  was  entirely  cut  off,  and  the  men  taken  prisoners  and  burnt  at  the 
stake.  Turner  beat  back  the  party  which  attacked  his  camp,  remounted  his  horses, 
and  vigorously  pursued  the  enemy,  who,  dividing  as  he  advanced,  closed  in  behind, 
and  pursued  him  in  turn.  He  fell,  pierced  by  a  bullet,  while  crossing  Green  River. 
Holyoke,  who  had  killed  five  Indians  with  his  own  hand,  now  assumed  the  command, 
and,  crossing  the  plains  and  Deerfield  River,  he  entered  that  town,  closely  pressed  by 
the  Indians.  In  this  retreat  he  lost  thirty-eight  men. 

This  action,  however,  was  the  turning-point  of  the  war.  The  Indians,  who  were 
thrice  the  number  of  their  assailants,  had  been  posted  in  a  country  where  they  could 
obtain  ready  subsistence  and  keep  the  surrounding  territory  in  alarm  by  their  secret 
attacks.  Believing  themselves  invincible,  they  had  at  last  become  careless,  and,  when 
they  least  expected  it,  had  been  surprised  by  a  comparatively  small  force,  a  large 
number  killed,  and  the  rest  dispersed.  They  had  never  before  experienced  so  decided 
.  an  overthrow,  and,  though  they  rallied  and  fought  desperately,  the  dreaded  combi 
nation  was  broken  up,  and  was  never  afterwards  re-formed. 

After  this  affair,  Philip,  who  had  during  many  mouths  made  this  place  his  head- 


WAR   OF  RACES— EARLY  COLONIAL   HISTORY.  143 

quarters,  determined,  it  appears,  to  retreat  towards  the  north.  This  chief,  the  various 
authorities  state,  had  kept  himself  somewhat  in  retirement  after  a  price  had  heen 
placed  upon  his  luad.  In  the  course  of  a  few  years  he  had  seen  Sassacus,  Mianto- 
noino,  and  Cunonchet  fall.  He  had  also  seen  the  colonies  spread  instead  of  diminish. 
Whether  he  meditated  striking  another  hlow  at  the  settlements  after  the  action  at 
Turner's  Falls,  or  relinquished  the  idea  of  a  retreat  to  Canada  through  the  territory 
of  the  great  Iroquois  nation  and  across  the  waters  of  Lake  Champlain,  ia  not  known. 
He  never  again,  however,  attained  to  the  power  he  had  once  possessed,  and  his  for 
tune  and  influence  appear  to  have  henceforth  deserted  him. 

The  action  at  Turner's  Falls  occurred  on  the  18th  of  May.  On  the  30th  of  the 
same  month  six  hundred  Indians  attacked  Hatfield  with  great  fury,  burned  twelve 
buildings,  assaulted  several  palisaded  dwellings,  and  killed  a  number  of  the  inhabi 
tants,  but  the  latter,  being  reinforced  from  Hadley,  succeeded  in  saving  the  town 
from  complete  destruction  and  in  driving  the  Indians  out  of  it.  The  loss  of  the 
colonists  was  five  men,  and  that  of  the  Indians  twenty-five.  The  latter  in  their 
retreat  drove  off  a  large  number  of  sheep  and  cattle. 

Early  on  the  morning  of  the  12th  of  June  the  Indians  assaulted  Hadley  witli 
their  entire  force,  reported  at  seven  hundred  warriors.  An  ambuscade  was  formed 
by  them  at  night  at  one  end  of  the  town,  into  which  they  endeavored  to  decoy  the 
inhabitants  the  following  day.  Not  succeeding  in  this,  they  secured  possession  of  a 
house,  which  afforded  them  shelter  during  the  assault,  and  also  fired  a  barn.  They 
were  at  length  repulsed  with  but  little  loss.  The  story  originally  told  by  Hutchinsori, 
and  often  since  repeated  as  veritable  history,  that  on  this  occasion  the  regicide  Goffe 
suddenly  appeared,  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  the  townspeople,  and  drove  off  the 
Indians,  is  wholly  wanting  in  authenticity. 

Philip  next  turned  his  attention  to  Plymouth,  the  old  thorn  which  still  rankled 
in  his  side.  To  this  quarter  he  repaired  personally,  in  the  latter  part  of  June,  at 
the  head  of  a  large  force,  and  harassed  the  surrounding  settlements  by  his  marauding 
attacks,  but  effected  nothing  of  importance.  This  move  had  the  effect,  however,  of 
inducing  the  colonists  to  send  fresh  troops  into  the  field,  who  were  animated  with  the 
warmest  zeal  against  their  common  enemy.  Distinguished  among  these  was  the 
Veteran  Captain  Benjamin  Church,  who  was  indefatigable  in  scouring  the  country, 
destroying  the  lodges  of  the  Indians,  capturing  their  women  and  children,  and 
killing  their  warriors.  He  spread  the  terror  of  his  name  far  and  wide.  The  hunted 
sachem,  although  he  had  no  longer  a  fixed  point  at  which  to  convene  his  council  and 
could  not  count  upon  a  place  where  his  person  would  be  safe,  still  maintained  a 
haughty  mien,  and  evinced  no  signs  of  submission,  but  on  the  contrary  manifested  a 
persevering  spirit  of  hostility  and  hatred. 

Major  John  Talcott,  of  Connecticut,  on  July  2  came  upon  a  large  body  of 
Indiana  in  the  Xarragansett  country,  at  a  place  called  Nipsachooke,  in  a  great  spruce 
swamp,  and  within  three  hours  slew  or  captured  one  hundred  and 'Seventy -one,  and 
sixty-seven  more  on  the  following  day.  This  was  in  what  is  now  Smithfield,  Rhode 
Island.  Queen  Magnus,  "  that  old  piece  of  venom,"  was  among  the  slain.  Two 


144  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

hundred  surrendered  in  Plymouth  colony  a  few  days  later.  One  hundred  and  fifty 
had  been  killed  or  taken  by  the  Massachusetts  forces  prior  to  July  22,  at  which  time 
they  returned  to  Boston.  July  27  the  sagamore  John,  a  Nipmuck  sachem,  came  in 
and  surrendered  at  Boston,  with  one  hundred  and  eighty  followers. 

While  Church  was  in  Rhode  Island,  Pometakom  was  driven  from  his  covert 
like  a  hunted  lion,  his  wife,  children,  and  others  of  his  household  being  surprised 
and  killed.  The  chief  himself,  however,  escaped,  and  fled  from  place  to  place. 
At  length  the  brother  of  an  Indian  whom  Philip  had  unjustly  killed  brought 
intelligence  that  the  haughty  Pokanoket  had  taken  refuge  in  a  swamp  located  on 
Mount  Hope  Neck.  Church  proceeded  to  the  peninsula  with  a  number  of  volun 
teers  and  a  party  of  friendly  Indians,  guided  by  the  informer.  They  crossed  the 
Taunton  River  in  perfect  secrecy,  and  reached  the  swamp  after  nightfall  (August 
11).  Church  then  formed  his  men  in  segments  of  a  circle,  in  open  order,  and 
marched  them  upon  the  swamp.  Having  placed  a  friendly  Indian  alternately  next 
to  a  white  man,  he  issued  orders  to  fire  on  any  person  who  should  attempt  to  escape 
througli  the  closing  circle.  They  waited  for  daybreak  in  intense  anxiety  and  pro 
found  silence.  A  small  select  party,  under  Golding,  was  detailed  to  advance  and 
rouse  up  the  Pokanoket  chief.  While  these  arrangements  were  being  perfected,  and 
the  attacking  parly  was  still  behind,  a  shot  whistled  over  Church's  head,  followed  by 
a  volley,  fired  by  a  party  of  Indians  sent  out  by  Philip.  Daylight  had  now  appeared. 
The  report  of  guns  attracted  the  attention  of  the  chief,  and,  seizing  his  tobacco- 
pouch,  powder-horn,  and  gun,  he  started  immediately  to  sustain  his  advanced  party. 
The  Indians  followed  Philip  in  files.  An  Englishman,  not  knowing  the  chief,  lev 
elled  his  piece  at  him  on  a  venture,  but  it  missed  fire.  An  Indian  placed  next  him 
then  discharged  his  musket  at  him,  sending  two  balls  through  his  body,  and  laying 
him  dead  on  the  spot.  Ignorant  of  the  fate  of  the  chief,  an  Indian  voice  was  heard 
thundering  through  the  swamp,  "  lootosh  I  lootosh  I"  (Onward !  Onward !)  which 
cry  proceeded  from  Annawon,  Philip's  principal  war-captain,  who  was  urging  his 
men  to  maintain  their  ground.  The  result  was  a  bloody  conflict,  in  which  the 
Indians  fought  like  tigers.  Church  finally  made  a  determined  charge  with  all  his 
force,  killing  one  hundred  and  thirty  men,  but  Annawon,1  with  about  sixty  followers, 
escaped. 

During  the  wholer&f  this  terrible  war  the  Mohicans  remained  faithful  to  the 
English,  and  not  a  drop  of  blood  reddened  the  soil  of  Connecticut  But  in  the 
adjacent  colonies  twelve  or  thirteen  towns  were  destroyed,  and  more  than  six  hundred 
men,  chiefly  the  young,  the  flower  of  the  country,  perished ;  six  hundred  houses 
were  burned,  and  an  immense  amount  of  property  was  destroyed.  Of  the  able- 
bodied  men  one  in  twenty  had  fallen. 

The  death  of  Philip  was  in  effect  the  termination  of  a  war  which  had  threatened 
the  very  existence  of  the  colonies,  for,  although  the  Pokanokets  had  been  the  prime 

1  This  chief  was  the  uncle  of  Philip,  and  when  captured  surrendered  hia  war-paints,  scarlet  blanket,  and 
broad  wampum  belts.  See  Drake's  "  Book  of  the  Indians." 


WAR   OF  RACES— EARLY  COLONIAL  UJSTORY. 


145 


instigators  of  it,  the  powerful  tribe  of  the  Narragansetts,  and  other  auxiliaries,  one 
after  another,  had  joined  the  league ;  and  although  less  than  two  years  had  elapsed 
since  the  commencement  of  the  war,  the  entire  Indian  power  of  the  country  was 
openly  or  secretly  enlisted  on  the  side  of  the  Mount  Hope  sachem.  Notwithstanding 
his  rooted  hatred  of  the  whites  and  of  the  whole  scheme  of  civilization,  it  cannot 
be  doubted  that  he  was  a  man  who  took  a  comprehensive  view  of  his  position  and 
of  the  destiny  of  the  New  England  tribes ;  much  less  can  it  be  questioned  that  he 
possessed  great  energy  of  character,  persuasive  powers  suited  to  enlisting  the  sym 
pathy  of  the  Indians,  and  very  considerable  skill  in  planning,  as  well  as  daring  in 
carrying  his  projects  into  effect.  Gookiu  calls  him  "  a  person  of  good  understanding 
and  knowledge  in  the  best  things."  We  may  lament  that  such  energies  were  misap 
plied,  but  we  cannot  withhold  our  respect  for  the  man  who  was  capable  of  combining 
all  the  military  strength  and  political  wisdom  of  his  country,  and  of  placing  the 
colonies  in  decidedly  the  greatest  peril  through  which  they  ever  passed. 


• 


'  n— 19 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THIS  MERRIMAC  VALLEY  AND  ABENAKI  TRIBES— KINO  WILLIAM'S  WAR— 00V- 
ERNOR  DUDLEY'S  WAR— SEBASTIAN  RALE— LOVEWELL'S  FIOHT. 


AT  the  period  of  the  first  settlement  of  New  England  by  the  English,  the  prin 
cipal  Indian  powers  located  in  that  territory  were  the  Pokanokete,  under  Massasoit ; 
the  Narragansetts,  under  Canonicus;  the  Pequot-Algonkins,  of  Connecticut ;  and  the 
Merrimacs  or  Pennacooks,  of  Amoskeag.  Each  of  these  comprised  several  subor 
dinate  tribes  bearing  separate  names,  and,  although  bound  by  both  lingual  and  tribal 
affinities  to  the  central  tribal  government,  yielding  obedience  to  it  in  the  ordinary 
loose  manner  of  local  Indian  tribes.  Each  of  these  tribal  circles  was  ruled  by  its 
particular  chief,  who,  although  he  arrogated  to  himself  the  powers  and  immunities 
of  hereditary  descent,  exercised  no  absolute  controlling  influence  beyond  what  the 
popular  voice  allowed  him.  The  colonists  were  not  long  in  ascertaining  who  were 
the  principal  rulers,  or  in  taking  the  necessary  measures  to  conciliate  them. 

Their  mode  of  treating  with  the  Indians  was  to  assert  that  the  sovereignty  and 
fee-simple  of  the  soil  were  vested  in  the  English  crown,  but  yet  to  acknowledge  the 
possessory  right  of  the  aborigines  by  presents  or  by  purchase,  in  order  to  conciliate 
the  local  chiefs.  When  collisions  were  occasioned  by  disputed  boundaries,  or  by 
questions  of  trade,  they  were  adjusted  in  councils  of  both  parties.  No  difficulties  of 
any  general  moment  occurred  until  the  origination  of  the  Pequot  war.  The  bloody 
feud  between  the  Mohicans,  under  Uncas,  and  the  Narragansetts,  under  Miantonomo, 
was  a  consequence  of  the  Pequot  outbreak.  The  colonies  endeavored  as  much  as 
possible  to  abstain  from  any  participation  in  this  struggle,  but  in  a  very  short  time 
they  became  involved  in  open  warfare  with  the  Narragansetts.  It  could  not  be 
supposed  that  the  Pokanokets  or  Wampanoags,  who  under  the  benevolent  Massasoit 
had  lived  in  amity  with  the  English  for  so  long  a  period,  could  sit  calmly  by  and  see 
a  foreign  people,  whose  manners,  customs,  and  opinions  differed  so  widely  from  their 
own,  attain  the  possession  of  power,  and  spread  over  their  country,  without  experi 
encing  feelings  of  jealousy  and  animosity.  The  impatient  spirit  which  Alexander 
evinced  during  his  short  reign,  and  the  more  deliberate  and  crafty  policy  of  Philip, 
developed  this  latent  Indian  feeling.  These  events  have,  however,  been  already 
related  in  detail. 

The  Merrimac  tribes,  among  whom  the  Pennacooks  appear  to  have  held  the 
highest  position,  had  located  the  seat  of  their  government  at  the  Amoskeag  Falls 
(now  Manchester,  New  Hampshire),  a  name  denoting  the  abundance  of  beaver  on 
that  stream.  The  ruling  sachem  was  Passaconnaway,  a  celebrated  magician,  a  dis 
tinguished  war-captain,  an  eloquent  speaker,  and  a  wise  ruler.  Few  aboriginal  chiefs 

140 


WAR   OF  RACES— EARLY  COLONIAL  HISTORY.  147 

ever  surpassed  him  in  mental  or  magisterial  qualifications.  For  a  long  period  he 
prudently  maintained  friendly  relations  with  the  Massachusetts  and  New  Hampshire 
colonies,  and  his  interviews  with  John  Eliot  denote  that  he  possessed  a  mind  capable 
of  grasping  the  truths  of  religion.  It  is  manifest  that  his  most  earnest  desires  were 
to  make  the  vicinity  of  his  beloved  Amoskeag  his  home  in  old  age,  and  that  his 
bones  should  be  deposited  on  one  of  the  beautiful  islands  in  the  Merrimac.  But  the 
spirit  of  aggression  frustrated  his  wishes.  There  was  a  strong  prejudice  in  the 
English  mind  against  the  natives,  which  brought  the  colonists  and  the  Merrimacs 
into  collision  in  many  different  ways.  Injury  was  retaliated  by  injury,  and  blood 
was  avenged  by  blood.  Murders  were  followed  by  wars,  in  which  the  English  were 
invariably  successful,  and  finally  Passaconnaway  and  his  Pennacooks  were  driven 
from  their  homes.  New  Hampshire  and  Maine,  from  the  Merrimac  to  the  Penobscot, 
were  drenched  with  Indian  as  well  as  English  blood.  The  time  will  arrive  when  the 
history  of  these  sanguinary  strifes  will  become  a  fruitful  theme  for  the  pen  and  the 
pencil,  and  then  the  bold  and  heroic  men  whose  lot  it  was  to  act  the  part  of  their 
country's  defenders  in  these  perilous  scenes  will  receive  their  due  meed  of  praise. 

The  Abenaki  tribe  also  acted  an  important  part  in  the  Indian  history  of  Maine 
and  New  Hampshire.  This  word  is  too  vague  for  any  ethnological  purpose,  being 
the  mere  Indian  term  for  Eastlander.1  The  language  of  this  people  designates  their 
Algonkin  lineage,  the  latter  being  distinguished  by  some  orthographical  peculiarities, 
the  principal  of  which  is  the  use  of-the  letter  r.  The  early  colonists  called  them 
Tarrantines,  but  among  the  Iroquois  they  were  known  by  the  name  of  Onagunga. 

The  news  of  the  rising  of  Philip  was  the  signal  for  th& commencement  of  hostile 
demonstrations  at  the  eastward,  which  in  the  space  of  a  few  weeks  extended  nearly 
three  hundred  miles.  In  Maine  a  border  warfare  was  waged,  unattended,  however,  by 
any  prominent  event.  Of  the  English  settlements  nearly  one-half  were  destroyed  in 
detail,  and  the  inhabitants  driven  away,  killed,  or  carried  into  captivity.  The  Indians 
were  supplied  with  arms  by  the  French  on  the  Penobscot.  Peace  \vas  at  length 
secured  by  the  treaty  at  Casco  Bay  in  1G78. 

In  July,  1687,  Denonville,  Governor  of  New  France,  with  a  force  of  three  thou 
sand,  consisting  mostly  of  Indians  gathered  from  all  points,  set  out  from  Irondequoit 
Bay  to  invade  the  Seneca  country.  On  the  way  he  seized  a  party  of  English  traders, 
distributed  their  goods  among  the  savages,  and  sent  them  prisoners  to  Canada.  The 
Senecas  laid  an  ambuscade  for  him,  into  which  he  fell,  but  finally  they  were  routed, 
their  village  burned,  and  their  corn-fields  laid  waste.  Returning  to  Montreal,  he 
rebuilt  Fort  Niagara  on  his  way,  and  garrisoned  it  with  one  hundred  men.  The 
campaign  enraged  without  seriously  injuring  the  Senecas,  whose  chief  town,  de 
stroyed  by  Denonville,  and  named  by  him  Gannagaro,  was  on  Boughton's  Hill,  near 
the  present  village  of  Victor,  New  York. 

King  William's  war  began  in  1689,  and  was  terminated  by  the  peace  of  Ryswick 
in  1697.  Count  Frontenac,  Governor  of  Canada,  the  ablest  of  all  the  French  officers 

1  From  vii/nin,  the  east,  or  place  of  daylight,  and  acicte,  earth,  or  land. 


148  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

in  America,  was  charged  to  recover  Hudson's  Bay,  to  protect  Acadia,  and  by  a 
descent  from  Canada  to  assist  a  fleet  from  France  in  conquering  New  York.  At 
daybreak  on  the  25th  of  August,  1689,  fifteen  hundred  Iroquois  reached  the  Isle  of 
Montreal,  at  La  Chine,  burned  the  houses,  and  massacred  two  hundred  people.  They 
then  made  themselves  masters  of  the  town,  the  fort,  and  the  whole  island,  which  they 
held  until  the  middle  of  October.  In  the  alarm  Fort  Frontenac,  on  Lake  Ontario, 
was  evacuated  and  razed. 

In  the  east,  Cocheco  (Dover,  New  Hampshire)  was  burned  by  the  Pennacooks 
on  the  night  of  June  27,  Major  Waldron  and  twenty-two  others  slain,  and  twenty- 
nine  captives  taken,  and  the  stockade  at  Pemaquid  (Maine)  was  taken  in  August  by 
the  Penobscots.  At  midnight  on  the  8th  of  February,  1690,  Schenectady  was 
attacked  and  burned  by  a  party  of  French  and  Indians  under  De  Mantet  and  Ste.- 
Helene,  with  D'Iberville  as  a  volunteer,  and  sixty  persons  massacred,  the  remainder 
of  its  inhabitants  fleeing,  some  half  clad,  through  the  snows  to  Albany.  A  party 
from  Three  Rivers,  led  by  Rouville,  on  March  27  surprised  the  settlement  at  Salmon 
Falls,  on  the  Piscataqua,  which  was  burned  after  a  bloody  engagement,  and  fifty-four 
prisoners  were  taken,  chiefly  women  and  children.  On  his  return,  Rouville  met  a  war- 
party  from  Quebec  under  Portneuf,  and,  with  them  and  a  reinforcement  from  Castine, 
successfully  attacked  the  fort  and  village  at  Casco  Bay.  Acadia  was  conquered  in 
the  following  May  by  Sir  William  Phipps,  who  failed  ignominiously  in  an  expedition 
against  Quebec  in  October.  York,  Maine,  was  surprised  by  French  and  Indians  in 
February,  1692.  An  attack  on  We!  is,  June  9,  was  foiled  by  its  resolute  defenders. 
Ninety-four  persons  were  killed  or  carried  into  captivity  from  Oyster  River,  New 
Hampshire,  in  July,  1694,  and  in  March,  1697,  an  attack  on  Haverhill  made  Han 
nah  I  hist  in  famous  as  the  heroine  of  one  of  the  most  daring  exploits  on  record. 

Frontenac  in  the  West  endeavored  by  alternate  missions  and  incursions  to  win 
over  or  to  terrify  the  Five  Nations  into  an  alliance.  In  1693  he  captured  three  of 
the  Mohawk  castles,  but  Schuyler,  of  Albany,  with  two  hundred  men,  overtook  the 
party  and  succeeded  in  liberating  many  of  the  captives.  In  1696  the  French  and 
their  allies  renewed  their  efforts,  Frontenac  himself,  then  seventy-four  years  of  age, 
heading  the  forces.  Two  bundles  of  reeds  suspended  on  a  tree,  which  they  encoun 
tered  on  their  way,  denoted  that  fourteen  hundred  and  thirty-four  warriors  (the 
number  of  reeds)  defied  them.  The  great  village  of  the  Onondagas  was  set  on  fire 
and  destroyed ;  the  country  of  the  Oneidas  was  ravaged,  their  corn  cut  up,  and  their 
villages  burnt;  and  it  was  proposed  to  go  against  the  Cayugas,  but  Frontenac  decided 
to  return  to  Montreal,  leaving  the  Iroquois  humbled,  indeed,  but  unsubdued.  In  the 
summer  of  1700  peace  was  ratified  between  the  Iroquois  on  the  one  side  and  France 
and  her  Indian  allies  on  the  other. 

The  peace  that  followed  the  treaty  of  Ryswick  was  of  brief  duration.  In  the 
year  1700  Europe  was  once  more  in  arms  over  the  question  of  the  Spanish  succes 
sion,  and  the  colonies  of  France  and  England  were  again  involved  in  a  bloody  strife, 
which  lasted  until  the  peace  of  Utrecht,  in  1713.  A  congress  of  Abenaki  chiefs,  in 
June,  1703,  declared  to  Governor  Dudley  that  the  sun  was  not  more  distant  from  the 


WAR   OF  RACES- EARLY  COLONIAL  HISTORY.  149 

earth  than  their  thoughts  from  war,  yet  within  six  weeks  the  whole  country  from 
Casco  to  Wells  was  in  a  conflagration.  Several  parties  of  Indians  and  French  burst 
upon  every  house  or  garrison  in  that  region  on  the  10th  of  August,  sparing  neither 
old  nor  young.  A  party  under  Hertel  de  Rouville  attacked  Deerfield  in  the  early 
morning  of  March  1,  1704,  and,  entering  the  palisades,  which  four  feet  of  snow  had 
rendered  useless,  set  the  village  on  fire,  killed  forty-seven  of  the  inhabitants,  and 
carried  one  hundred  and  twelve  into  captivity.  During  all  these  years  the  Massa 
chusetts  frontiers  were  desolated,  presenting  a  shocking  picture  of  danger  and  misery. 
Children  at  play,  laborers  in  the  fields,  mothers  employed  about  their  households,  all 
were  victims  to  an  enemy  who  disappeared  as  soon  as  a  blow  was  struck,  and  who 
was  quick  to  discover  and  profit  by  any  lack  of  vigilance  in  a  family  or  garrison. 
In  170G,  Chelmsford,  Groton,  Sudbury,  Exeter,  Dover,  and  many  other  places  suf 
fered  more  or  less  severely.  Many  New-Englanders  were  carried  into  captivity  to 
Canada,  and  many  were  killed  on  the  way.  In  the  night  of  August  29,  1708, 
Haverhill,  on  the  Merrimac,  was  attacked  by  a  party  of  Indians  and  Canadians 
under  DCS  Chaillons  and  Rouville,  the  destroyer  of  Deerfield.  It  contained  at  that 
time  thirty  houses,  the  new  meeting-house  standing  in  the  centre  of  the  village. 
These  were  all  assaulted  simultaneously.  Benjamin  llolfe,  the  minister,  was  beaten  to 
death,  and  his  wife  and  infant  child  savagely  slaughtered,  and  many  others  fell  under 
the  rifle  and  tomahawk.  As  the  destroyers  retired,  Samuel  Ayer,  with  a  few  men, 
hung  on  their  rear,  and  succeeded,  although  at  the  cost  of  his  own  life,  in  rescuing 
several  from  captivity. 

In  1710,  Colonel  Nicholson,  with  a  fleet  and  four  New  England  regiments, 
captured  Port  Royal,  to  which,  in  honor  of  Queen  Anne,  was  given  the  name  of 
Annapolis.  An  unsuccessful  expedition  against  Quebec,  in  1711,  under  Admiral 
Walker,  was  the  finale  in  America  of  this  horrible  warfare,  instigated  by  Christian 
princes,  which  had  occasioned  such  needless  and  inhuman  butchery.  In  a  single 
year  of  this  cruel  war  one-fifth  part  of  all  who  were  capable  of  bearing  arms  in 
Massachusetts  were  in  active  service.  Some  of  its  fruits,  afterwards  apparent,  were 
an  intense  hatred  of  the  French  missionaries,  and  a  willingness  to  exterminate  the 
natives.  As  these  latter  could  not  be  reached  by  the  usual  methods  of  warfare,  a 
bounty  was  offered  for  every  Indian  scalp,  and  men  scoured  the  forests  for  Indians  as 
they  would  for  wild  beasts.  By  the  peace  of  Utrecht  England  obtained  supremacy 
in  the  fisheries,  and  the  possession  of  Hudson's  Bay  and  its  borders,  Newfoundland, 
and  Acadia. 

About  1G92,  while  the  colonies  were  contending  with  the  refractory  tribes  on 
their  western  borders,  Sebastian  Rale,  a  Jesuit  missionary  from  Quebec,  who  had 
previously  visited  some  of  the  Western  tribes,  made  his  appearance  among  the 
Abenakis.  He  located  himself  at  Norridgewock,  and  earnestly  devoted  his  attention 
to  the  task  of  teaching  them  the  truths  of  Christianity.  It  must  be  remembered 
that  the  French  residents  in  Canada  aimed  to  construct  an  empire  in  America  by 
obtaining  influence  among  the  Indian  tribes  east,  west,  north,  and  south,  which 
might  be  turned  to  political  account  in  the  hour  of  emergency.  To  a  great  extent 


150  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

the  new  system  of  instruction  introduced  by  Rale  had  not  only  a  religious  character, 
but  also  a  powerful  political  tendency.  The  people  of  New  England  and  New  York, 
nay,  of  all  the  colonies,  regarded  the  Jesuit  teaching  and  the  French  influence  with 
equal  horror,  and  numerous  and  protracted  negotiations  between  the  colonists  and 
the  tribes,  as  well  as  between  the  respective  authorities  of  the  two  countries,  were  the 
consequence.  This  position  of  affairs  caused  Rale  to  be  regarded  by  the  colonists 
as  a  partisan  and  a  leader  of  the  insurgent  Indians.  Throughout  New  England  his 
labors  were  deemed  to  be  directed  towards  perverting  the  Indians  and  implanting  in 
their  minds  the  seeds  of  error  and  of  hatred  to  the  colonies.  He  was  cited  before 
the  authorities  of  Boston,  but  the  negotiations  resulted  only  in  mutual  misapprehen 
sion  and  vituperation.  Every  movement  was  either  in  reality  or  was  conceived  to 
be  the  result  of  Canadian  jealousy  of  the  British  .colonies,  or  of  British  animosity 
against  Canada.  If  the  Indians  committed  a  murder  or  perpetrated  a  massacre,  it 
was  alleged  that  the  French  authorities  had  incited  them  to  the  act,  or  had  counte 
nanced  them  in  its  performance.  Squadrons  of  ships  sailed  from  England  to  avenge 
these  reported  injuries,  and  for  a  long  period  the  country  from  the  mouth  of  the  St. 
Lawrence  to  that  of  the  Mississippi  was  the  battle-ground  of  the  contending  nations. 

After  the  peace  of  Utrecht,  Massachusetts,  having  extended  her  boundaries  and 
founded  new  settlements  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Kenuebec,  had  protected  them  by 
erecting  forts.  The  Abenakis  resisted  her  claims  to  territory  that  had  always  been 
theirs,  and  determined  to  retain  it.  Several  of  their  chiefs  had  been  seized  by  strat 
agem  by  the  government  and  detained  as  hostages.  The  tribe  demanded  the  evacua 
tion  of  their  territory  and  the  release  of  their  imprisoned  warriors  whose  ransom 
had  been  paid,  and  threatened  reprisals.  The  English  then  seized  the  young  Baron 
de  St.  Castin,  a  half-breed  and  war-chief,  who  held  a  French  commission,  and  after 
vainly  soliciting  the  savages  to  surrender  Rale,  "  that  incendiary  of  mischief,"  Cap 
tain  Westbrooke,  in  January,  1722,  led  a  strong  force  to  Norridgewock  to  surprise 
him.  Rale  had  timely  warning,  and  escaped  into  the  forest,  but  his  important  cor 
respondence  with  Governor  Vaudreuil  was  found,  and  with  it  a  vocabulary  of  the 
Abenaki  language  which  he  had  made,  and  which  is  still  preserved. 

The  war-chiefs  soon  assembled  at  Norridgewock,  and,  resolving  to  destroy  the 
English  settlements  on  the  Kennebec,  began  the  work  of  destruction  by  the  burning 
of  Brunswick.  Rale,  foreseeing  the  issue,  bade  his  people  retire  to  Canada.  Many 
of  them  went,  but  he  declined  to  accompany  them. 

In  July  war  was  declared  against  the  Eastern  Indians  by  Massachusetts,  and,  to 
stimulate  partisan  activity,  a  bounty  of  fifteen  pounds  sterling  was  offered  for  each 
Indian  scalp,  a  sum  afterwards  increased  to  one  hundred  pounds.  In  March,  1723, 
Westbrooke,  with  his  party,  after  five  days'  march  through  the  woods,  came  upon 
the  Indian  settlement  that  was  probably  at  Oldtown,  above  Bangor.  Here  was  a 
fort  seventy  yards  long  and  fifty  broad,  with  stockades  fourteen  feet  high,  enclosing 
twenty-three  houses.  A  chapel,  handsomely  furnished,  sixty  feet  long  and  thirty 
wide,  stood  near  it.  Arriving  in  the  evening  of  March  9,  the  invaders  set  fire  to  the 
village  and  reduced  it  to  ashes. 


WAR   OF  RACES— EARLY  COLONIAL  HISTORY.  151 

After  two  futile  attempts  to  seize  Rale,  a  party  at  length  succeeded  in  reaching 
Norridgewock  unperceived  August  23, 1724,  and  discharged  their  guns  at  the  cabins. 
The  Indian  warriors,  fifty  in  number,  seized  their  arms  and  rushed  out  to  secure  the 
retreat  of  their  wives,  children,  and  old  men.  Rale  heroically  endeavored  to  save 
his  flock  by  drawing  the  attention  of  the  assailants  upon  himself.  In  this  he  partly 
succeeded,  many  of  the  Indians  swimming  the  river,  the  English  meanwhile  pil 
laging  the  cabins  and  the  church  and  then  setting  them  on  fire.  After  the  retreat 
of  the  English  the  mangled  body  of  Rale  was  buried  by  some  of  the  natives  beneath 
the  spot  where  he  used  to  stand  before  the  altar. 

Thus  perished  Rale,  the  last  of  the  Jesuit  missionaries  in  New  England,  in  the 
sixty-seventh  year  of  his  age,  and  the  thirty-seventh  year  of  his  service  in  America, 
and  with  him  fell  the  influence  of  France  within  the  New  England  borders. 

In  May,  1725,  the  brave  John  Lovewell  and  his  companions,  who  had  twice 
returned  successful  from  Indian  forays,  on  a  third  expedition  fell  into  an  ambush  of 
a  large  party  of  Saco  Indians,  under  Paugus,  chief  of  the  Pequawkets,  in  Fryeburg, 
Maine,  near  a  sheet  of  water  which  has  since  borne  the  name  of  "  Lovewell's  Pond." 
Although  the  Indians  outnumbered  them  more  than  two  to  one,  and  although  they 
lost  their  leader  early  in  the  action,  the  whites  kept  up  the  contest  until  nightfall, 
when  they  withdrew,  having  lost  twenty  out  of  the  thirty-four  men  composing  the 
party.  Paugus,  the  Indian  leader,  also  fell  in  the  action.  With  the  Androscoggius, 
the  Pequawkets  soon  after  retired  towards  the  sources  of  the  Connecticut  River, 
subsequently  removing  to  Canada,  where  they  were  known  as  the  St.  Francis  tribe. 
The  Pequawkets  remained  upon  the  Connecticut,  and  at  the  period  of  the  Revolution 
were  under  a  chief  named  Philip. 

Peace  was  at  last  concluded  with  the  Eastern  Indians,  who  found  themselves 
excelled  by  their  opponents  even  in  their  own  modes  of  warfare.  The  peace  was 
solemnly  ratified  by  the  chiefs  as  far  as  the  St.  John's,  August  6, 1726,  and  was  long 
and  faithfully  kept,  and  English  trading-houses  supplanted  French  missions. 


.    • 


CHAPTER   V. 

THE  SOUTHERN  INDIANS— MASSACRE  OF  WHITE  SETTLERS— WARS  WITH  THE 
TUSCARORA8,  YAMA8SEES,  NATCHEZ,  AND  CHICKASAW8— SETTLEMENT  OF 
GEORGIA. 

ENGLAND  attained  great  political  and  literary  fame  during  the  reign  of  Queen 
Anne,  while  her  American  colonies,  within  the  gloomy  shadows  of  a  distant  and 
savage  wilderness,  were  defending  themselves  from  the  horrors  of  impending  starva 
tion  on  the  one  hand  and  from  aboriginal  hostility  on  the  other. 

European  intercourse  with  the  Indians  had  during  a  period  of  one  hundred  years 
produced  no  appreciable  good  effects  on  their  general  manners,  opinions,  and  modes 
of  life.  The  tribes  located  nearest  the  settlements  dressed  in  blankets  and  strouds 
instead  of  skins;  they  used  metallic  cooking-vessels  instead  of  the  clumsy  clay  aketk, 
or  cooking-pot,  implements  of  iron  and  steel  instead  of  stone  and  bone,  and  the 
European  fire-lock  instead  of  the  flint  arrow.  The  fur-trade  was  in  their  view  the 
great  benefit  which  had  resulted  from  the  influx  of  civilized  races.  They  hunted 
deer  and  beaver  with  increased  vigor,  indulging  in  luxuries  of  which  their  fathers 
hud  never  even  thought,  and  particularly  in  the  use  of  intoxicating  liquors.  They 
did  not,  however,  in  reality  appreciate  anything  else  which  came  from  Europe. 
They  still  detested  and  discouraged  the  introduction  of  schools,  churches,  letters,  and 
labor,  preferring  to  live,  as  their  forefathers  had  done,  by  the  chase,  and  not  by 
agriculture.  Game  was  still  plentiful ;  their  hunting-grounds  were  so  vast  that  they 
appeared  of  almost  illimitable  extent ;  and  the  tribes  from  Maine  to  Georgia,  and 
from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the  borders  of  the  Great  Lakes,  feasted,  danced,  sung, 
and  rioted,  and  warred  with  one  another,  precisely  as  their  ancestors  had  done  a 
century  before.  When  more  sombre  views  of  their  existing  condition  were  forced 
upon  them,  when  the  plough  of  the  white  man  encroached  so  rapidly  on  their 
hunting-grounds  that  difficulties  resulted,  they  plotted  against  the  settlers,  making 
sudden  attacks  upon  them,  or  enticing  them  into  ambuscades.  These  fitful  efforts 
were  succeeded  by  a  relapse  into  their  primitive  state  of  idleness  and  inaction, 
without  the  Indians  having  derived  from  their  spasmodic  outbreaks  any  permanent 
advantage  to  themselves,  or  having  inflicted  any  permanent  injury  upon  the  settle 
ments. 

During  the  establishment  of  the  colonies,  the  impressions  created  by  this  feverish 
and  changeful  policy  of  the  natives  were  alike  unfavorable  to  the  Indian  and  to  the 
colonial  character.  Wherever  attempts  had  been  made  to  introduce  education  and  the 
gospel,  and  to  graft  civilization,  as  it  were,  on  the  original  stock,  they  had  submitted, 

as  if  in  expectation  of  deriving  therefrom  ulterior  advantages,  with  such  mildness  of 
152 


WAR    OF  RACES— EAKLY  COLONIAL  HISTORY.  153 

manner,  accompanied  by  such  deep  duplicity,  as  to  deceive  the  settlers ;  but  in  the 
end  their  real  nature  developed  itself  in  the  commission  of  cruel  and  sanguinary 
acts.  Such  were  the  results  of  colonial  experience  in  Virginia  between  the  period 
of  the  establishment  of  the  settlement  at  Jamestown  and  the  perpetration,  in  1G22, 
of  that  terrible  massacre  under  Opechancanough,  when  over  four  hundred  persons 
were  killed  in  one  day,  among  whom  the  first  victims  were  those  who,  with  the  aid 
afforded  them  by  the  benevolent  in  England,  had  labored  most  zealously  and  effi 
ciently  to  teach  the  Indians  and  to  found  a  seminary  of  education  for  the  tuition  of 
their  youth.  Another  terrible  example  was  afforded  in  Massachusetts  in  1075  by 
Pometacom,  after  nearly  thirty  years  had  been  spent  by  Eliot  and  his  missionary 
compeers  in  zealous  and  effective  teaching  of  the  tribes.  These  repulsive  traits  in  the 
Indian  character  did  much  towards  repressing,  and  for  a  time  may  be  said  to  have 
extinguished,  that  benevolent  and  humane  spirit  with  which  they  had  been  previously 
regarded.  In  Virginia,  as  in  the  entire  South,  these  acts  may  be  said  to  have 
originated  a  thorough  detestation  of  the  whole  Indian  race.  Indeed,  the  details  of 
these  early  deeds  of  sanguinary  treachery,  having  been  widely  spread  throughout 
America  and  Europe  by  means  of  newspapers,  exercised  an  adverse  influence  which 
is  felt  even  at  the  present  day. 

Thus  far  twelve  of  the  original  thirteen  colonies  had  been  established :  Georgia, 
the  thirteenth,  was  not  founded  until  some  time  afterwards.  Events  which  followed 
one  another  in  rapid  succession  furnish  us  with  still  further  knowledge  bf  Indian 
character.  The  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century  was  marked  by  three  events 
in  the  history  of  the  colonies  which  exercised  an  important  influence  on  the  Indian 
policy.  1.  Penn,  who  had  sailed  up  the  Delaware  in  1682,  selected  a  site  for  the 
capital  of  his  colony  in  the  heart  of  the  Lenni  Lenape  territories,  and  in  1701 
laid  out  the  city  of  Philadelphia.  2.  Frontenac,  the  Governor-General  of  New 
France,  to  the  chagrin  of  the  Iroquois,  directed  a  post  to  be  established  in  the  country 
of  the  Wyandots  and  their  allies,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  lakes.  M.  de  la  Motte- 
Cadilluc,  who  was  intrusted  with  this  duty,  arrived  with  a  military  force  at  the  straits 
between  Lakes  Erie  and  Huron  in  July  of  the  same  year,  and  founded  Detroit,  that 
central  point  of  a  French  influence  whose  baleful  effects  were  felt  upon  the  Western 
frontiers  during  the  long  and  bloody  period  of  sixty  years  previous  to  the  fall  of 
Quebec.  3.  The  founding  of  Louisiana.  The  first  settlement  was  made  in  1699  at 
Biloxi,  in  the  country  of  the  Choctaws,  but  the  province  was  not  ceded  to  Crozat 
until  1712,  nor  was  New  Orleans  founded  until  1719.  It  was  the  policy  of  the 
French  to  establish  trading-  and  missionary-posts  first,  and  subsequently  cities. 
Michilimackinac,  the  earliest  point  of  fixed  occupancy  in  Michigan,  was  the  central 
position  of  the  Western  Algonkins  in  1662,  as  was  also  Kaskaskia,  Illinois,  in  the 
country  of  the  same  generic  group  of  families,  as  early  as  the  first  visit  of  La  Salle, 
in  1683.  Vincennes,  in  Indiana,  the  Au  Poste  of  early  writers,  was  first  occupied  in 
1710.  The  primary  impulses  were  thus  given  to  that  Franco-Indian  power  which, 
like  a  gigantic  serpent,  coiled  its  folds  around  and  for  a  period  threatened  to  crush 
the  British  colonies. 

ii— 20 


154  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Meantime,  the  Indians,  trne  to  their  instincts,  did  not  abandon  their  system  of 
massacre.  The  opening  of  the  century  was  characterized  by  the  South  Carolina  war 
with  the  Creeks  or  Appalachians ;  the  daring  and  successful  expedition  of  Colonel 
Moore  against  them,  within  the  Spanish  territories,  in  1705 ;  the  wide-spread  and 
startling  massacre  by  the  Tuscaroras,  in  North  Carolina,  in  1711 ;  and  the  Yamassee 
massacre,  in  1715. 

The  Yamassees  were  one  of  some  twenty-eight  small  tribes,  of  the  group  of 
Chicoras,  who  occupied  the  coasts  and  islands,  as  well  as  the  banks  of  the  rivers,  of 
South  Carolina,  a  group  of  which  the  Catawbas  appear  to  be  the  only  remaining 
but  now  rapidly  diminishing  tribe.  It  was  the  Yamassees,  noted  for  their  gentle 
manners  but  bitterly  revengeful  disposition,  who  had  encountered  the  early  Spanish 
visitors  to  this  coast  with  such  intrepidity,  returning  treachery  for  treachery.  The 
Tuscaroras  belonged  to  the  Iroquois  group,  a  fact  that  would  clearly  appear  from 
philology,  were  it  not  also  affirmed  by  their  traditions,  and  by  the  fact  that  after  their 
final  defeat  at  Kienuka  they  fled  to  their  kindred,  the  Five  Nations,  and  were 
admitted  as  the  sixth  canton. 

The  war  of  the  Spanish  succession  (1700-13)  involved  that  part  of  South  Caro 
lina  bordering  on  Spanish  Florida,  as  well  as  New  England,  which  adjoined  Acadia. 
In  September,  1702,  Governor  James  Moore,  of  South  Carolina,  led  an  unsuccessful 
expedition  against  the  Spaniards  at  St.  Augustine.  Late  in  the  year  1705  he  headed 
a  mixed  force  of  whites  and  Indians  to  attack  the  Muskokis,  on  the  Bay  of  Appa- 
lache,  who  had  been  gathered  by  the  Spaniards  into  towns  and  instructed  by  missions 
of  Franciscan  priests.  These  Indians  had  learned  the  use  of  horses  and  beeves, 
which  multiplied  without  care  in  their  favoring  climate,  and  their  continuous  line  of 
communication  from  St.  Augustine  to  the  settlements  in  Louisiana  had  inspired  the 
Carolina  traders  with  alarm.  Penetrating  regions  which  none  but  De  Soto  had  till 
then  invaded,  Moore  reached  the  Indian  towns  near  the  port  of  St.  Mark's,  and  on 
December  14  attacked  Ayavalla.  Repulsed  with  loss  from  this  strong  place,  he  suc 
ceeded  in  setting  fire  to  the  church  adjoining  it,  and  more  than  fifty  warriors  and 
one  hundred  women  and  children  were  captured  and  kept  for  the  slave-market. 
Next  day  the  Spanish  commander  in  the  bay  gave  battle  to  double  his  number,  and 
was  defeated ;  but  the  Spanish  fort  proved  too  strong  for  the  Carolinians.  The  chief 
of  loitachnea  compounded  for  peace  with  the  plate  of  his  church  and  ten  horses 
laden  with  provisions.  Five  other  towns  submitted  unconditionally.  Most  of  their 
people  abandoned  their  homes,  and  were  received  as  free  emigrants  into  Carolina. 
Thus  was  the  English  flag  advanced  through  the  wilderness  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
and  an  additional  claim  established  to  the  fertile  region  soon  to  be  known  as  Georgia. 
Its  boundaries  extended  far  into  Spanish  territory. 

In  1709  one  hundred  German  families, — unhappy  fugitives  who  had  been  driven 
by  religious  persecution  from  the  Neckar  and  the  Rhine, — conducted  by  De  Graffen- 
ried,  sought  a  refuge  in  North  Carolina.  The  Indians  along  the  sea-coast,  greatly 
reduced  in  number  by  strong  drink  and  other  vices  of  civilization,  had  sold  their 
lands  or  been  cheated  out  of  them,  and  their  beautiful  country  as  far  as  the  Yadkin 


WAR   OF  RACES— EARLY  COLONIAL  HISTORY.  155 

and  the  Catawba  had  been  opened  to  the  encroachments  of  the  white  man.  The 
Tuscaroras  of  the  inland  regions  and  the  Corees  southward,  upon  whom  their 
countrymen  of  the  coasts  had  retreated,  resolved  to  prevent  their  own  extinction  by 
exterminating  the  intruders.  On  the  22d  of  September,  1711,  small  bands  of  these 
Indians,  acting  in  concert,  fell  upon  the  scattered  German  settlements  along  the 
Roanoke  and  Pamlico  Sound,  and  in  one  night  one  hundred  and  thirty  persons 
perished  by  the  hatchet.  At  Bath  the  Huguenot  refugees  and  the  neighboring 
planters  were  slaughtered  without  mercy.  The  savages  also  scoured  the  country  on 
Albemarle  Sound,  burning  and  slaying  for  three  days,  until  disabled  by  fatigue  and 
drunkenness. 

The  Assembly  of  South  Carolina  promptly  voted  relief.  Captain  Barnwell,  w'th 
six  hundred  white  men  and  three  hundred  and  sixty  Indians, — Cherokees,  Creeks, 
Catawbas,  and  Yamassees, — marched  through  the  wilderness  against  the  Tuscaroras, 
and,  driving  them  back  to  their  fortified  town  near  the  Neuse,  a  little  above  Edenton, 
forced  them  to  treat  for  peace.  The  South  Carolinians  themselves  violated  the  treaty 
on  their  return,  and  the  massacres  on  Neuse  River  were  renewed.  But  Governor 
Spottswood,  of  Virginia,  succeeded  in  dividing  the  Tuscaroras,  and  in  March,  1713, 
Colonel  James  Moore,  with  forty  white  men  and  a  large  Indian  force,  besieged  them 
in  their  fort  and  took  eight  hundred  of  them  prisoners.  The  hostile  portion  of  the 
tribe  abandoned  their  old  hunting-grounds,  and,  migrating  to  the  vicinity  of  Oneida 
Lake,  were  received  by  their  kindred  of  the  Iroquois  as  the  sixth  nation  of  their 
confederacy.  In  1715  peace  was  concluded  with  the  Corees,  who  were  established  as 
a  single  settlement  in  the  precincts  of  Hyde  County,  and  the  power  of  the  native 
races  of  North  Carolina  was  finally  broken. 

After  the  peace  of  Utrecht  the  Indian  traffic  in  South  Carolina  rapidly  increased, 
especially  with  the  Yamassees,  who,  from  impatience  at  the  attempts  to  Christianize 
them,  had  quitted  Florida,  their  old  home,  and  planted  themselves  from  Port  Royal 
Island  along  the  northeast  bank  of  the  Savannah  River,  where  the  Huguenots  first 
attempted  a  settlement.  This  powerful  tribe  had  long  been  friendly  to  the  Carolin 
ians,  engaging  with  them  as  allies  in  their  wars  against  the  Spaniards  at  St.  Augus 
tine.  The  latter  finally  succeeded  in  uniting  the  Cherokees,  Choctaws,  and  other 
Appalachian  nations  in  a  league  for  the  destruction  of  the  colony.  On  the  morning 
of  Good  Friday,  April  15,  1715,  an  indiscriminate  massacre  of  the  English  began. 
Seaman  Burrouglis,  a  strong  man  and  swift  runner,  broke  through  the  Indian  ranks, 
and,  though  hotly  pursued  and  twice  wounded,  by  running  ten  miles  and  swimming 
one  mile,  reached  Port  Royal  and  alarmed  the  town.  Its  inhabitants  fled,  some  in 
canoes  and  some  on  board  a  ship  that  chanced  to  be  in  the  harbor,  to  Charleston. 
Attacking  the  scattered  settlements  by  night,  and  hiding  in  the  swamp  by  day,  the 
Indians  drove  the  planters  towards  the  capital,  which  was  itself  in  peril,  and  the 
ruin  of  the  colony  seemed  imminent.  The  Yamassees  and  their  confederates  halted 
at  Stono,  where  the  prisoners  were  sacrificed. 

By  this  time  the  colony  was  aroused.  On  the  north  the  savages  received  a  check, 
and  vanished  into  the  forests.  On  the  south,  Governor  Craven,  acting  with  the 


156  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

greatest  energy,  proclaimed  martial  law,  laid  an  embargo  on  all  ships  to  prevent  men 
or  provisions  leaving  the  colony,  and,  seizing  arms  wherever  they  could  be  found, 
placed  them  in  the  hands  of  faithful  negroes.  With  twelve  hundred  men,  white  and 
black,  he  promptly  led  the  forces  of  Colleton  district  to  confront  the  savage  horde, 
now  advancing  with  the  knife,  hatchet,  and  torch  in  dreadful  activity.  In  the  first 
conflicts  the  Indians  were  victors,  but  Craven  forced  them  finally  to  fall  back  to  their 
camp  on  the  Salkehatchie.  The  conflict  was  bloody,  and  was  often  renewed.  Savage 
yells  filled  the  air.  Arrows  and  bullets  were  directed  with  fatal  aim  from  every 
cover,  and  victory  was  long  doubtful.  At  last  the  savages  gave  way,  and  were  pur 
sued  beyond  the  present  limits  of  Carolina,  seeking  shelter  under  the  guns  of  St. 
Augustine.  It  is  believed  that  the  Yamassees  penetrated  the  Everglades  of  Florida 
and  became  the  ancestors  of  the  powerful  Seminoles.  South  Carolina  had  lost  about 
four  hundred  of  its  inhabitants. 

In  1730  an  attempt  was  made  to  secure  the  friendship  of  the  neighboring  tribes. 
An  embassy  under  Sir  Alexander  Gumming  met  the  chiefs  of  the  Cherokees  at 
Nequassee,  in  the  valley  of  the  Tennessee.  A  treaty  of  alliance  was  drawn  up  and 
signed  in  England.  The  seven  Indian  envoys,  astonished  and  bewildered  at  the 
vastness  of  London  and  the  splendor  and  discipline  of  the  army,  were  presented  at 
court,  and  when  the  English  king  claimed  their  lands  as  his  property,  one  of  them 
gave  the  irrevocable  answer,  "  To-yen-hah,"  it  is  "  a  most  certain  truth,"  and  the 
delivery  of  eagles'  feathers  confirmed  his  words.  The  peace  was  faithfully  kept,  at 
least  for  one  generation. 

Near  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi,  between  the  Choctaw  and  Chickasaw  tribes,  in 
a  region  of  great  fertility,  dwelt  the  Natchez  Indians.  The  great  chief  of  the  tribe 
was  revered  as  one  of  the  family  of  the  Sun,  and  his  power  was  almost  despotic. 
The  French  who  came  among  them  coveted  their  land,  and  Chopart,  the  French 
commander,  demanded  as  a  plantation  the  site  of  their  principal  village.  In  concert 
with  the  Cherokees  and  a  part  of  the  Choctaws,  a  general  massacre  of  the  French 
was  determined  on.  The  butchery  began  on  the  morning  of  November  28,  1729, 
and  before  noon  nearly  every  Frenchman  in  the  colony  was  slaughtered.  The  Jesuit 
Du  Poisson,  Du  Codere,  commander  of  the  Yazoo  post,  the  planter  De  Koli  and  his 
son,  together  with  the  Capuchin  missionary  to  the  Natchez  nation,  were  all  killed, 
only  two  white  men,  mechanics,  being  saved.  Two  hundred  victims  had  fallen. 

New  Orleans  was  in  terror;  but  the  brave  Le  Sueur,  repairing  to  the  Choctaws, 
won  seven  hundred  of  them  to  his  side,  while  the  French  forces,  under  Loubois, 
gathered  on  the  river.  Le  Sueur,  with  his  Choctaws,  on  the  moruiflg  of  January  29, 
1730,  surprised  the  Natchez  villages,  liberated  the  captives,  and  brought  off  sixty 
scalps  and  eighteen  prisoners,  losing  but  two  of  his  own  men.  He  completed  his 
victory  February  8,  when  the  Natchez  Indians  fled,  some  taking  refuge  with  the 
Chickasaws  and  Muskokis,  others  crossing  the  Mississippi  to  the  vicinity  of  Natchi- 
•  todies.  These  were  pursued  and  driven  still  farther  west.  The  Great  Sun  and  more 
than  four  hundred  prisoners  were  shipped  to  Hispaniola  and  sold  as  slaves.  The 
Natchez  nation  no  longer  existed. 


WAR   OF  RACES— EARLY  COLONIAL  U1STORY.  157 

In  1736  the  French  government,  in  order  to  control  the  eastern  valley  of  the 
Mississippi  and  establish  its  supremacy  throughout  Louisiana,  determined  to  subju 
gate  the  Chickasaws.  This  trihe  had  maintained  its  savage  independence,  and,  while 
it  welcomed  the  English  traders  from  Carolina,  intercepted  the  French  connections 
between  Kaskaskia  and  North  Carolina.  Troops  from  the  south,  and  from  Illinois, 
under  D'Artaguette,  were  directed  to  meet  in  the  Chickasaw  territory  on  May  10. 
Bienville,  the  French  commander  at  New  Orleans,  left  Fort  Conde,  at  Mobile,  April 
4,  and  ascended  the  river  to  Tombeckbee,  where  a  fort  had  been  constructed.  Here 
he  was  joined  by  twelve  hundred  Choctaws.  At  a  point  twenty-one  miles  southeast 
of  the  Chickasaw  village,  now  Cotton-Gin  Port,  he  left  his  artillery,  and,  marching 
on,  encamped  a  league  from  the  valley  on  the  evening  of  May  25. 

Early  next  morning  they  advanced  to  surprise  the  Chickasaws.  The  latter, 
behind  strong  intrenchments,  over  which  waved  English  flags,  were  on  the  watch, 
and,  aided  by  English  traders,  repulsed  two  attempts  to  storm  their  log  fort,  killing 
thirty  of  the  French,  four  of  them  officers.  The  next  day  skirmishes  occurred 
between  parties  of  Chickasaws  and  Choctaws,  and  on  the  29th  Bienville  retreated, 
throwing  his  cannon  into  the  Tombeckbee. 

Meanwhile,  D'Artaguette,  with  fifty  French  and  one  thousand  Indians,  accom 
panied  by  De  Vincennes,  on  the  evening  before  the  appointed  day  encamped  near  the 
rendezvous.  For  ten  days  he  awaited  the  expected  junction ;  then,  to  prevent  the 
desertion  of  his  allies,  he  decided  to  make  the  attack.  On  May  20,  after  carrying 
by  storm  two  of  the  forts,  he  attacked  the  third.  Disabled  in  the  moment  of  victory, 
his  red  allies  fled  in  dismay,  and  the  French  retreated,  leaving  D'Artaguette  and 
Vincennes  in  the  enemy's  hands.  After  the  retreat  of  Bienville  the  captives  were 
burned  at  the  stake. 

Ill  success  only  roused  the  French  to  still  greater  efforts.  On  the  30th  of  June, 
1739,  an  expedition  made  up  of  twelve  hundred  whites  and  twenty-four  hundred 
red  and  black  men  reached  Fort  Assumption,  on  the  bluff  of  Memphis.  Here  they 
remained  until  the  next  spring,  the  French  and  Canadians  falling  victims  to  the 
climate.  In  March  a  small  detachment  on  its  way  to  the  Chickasaws  was  met  by 
messengers  who  supplicated  for  peace,  and  Bienville  gladly  accepted  overtures  that 
saved  him  from  utter  failure.  The  fort  at  Memphis  was  razed,  the  troops  were 
withdrawn,  and  the  fort  on  the  St.  Francis  was  dismantled.  But  the  settlements 
between  Lower  Louisiana  and  Illinois  still  interrupted  French  communications,  and 
the  Chickasaws  remained  masters  of  the  situation. 

Up  to  this  period  there  had  been  no  attempt  made  at  colonization  in  the  country 
occupied  by  the  confederacy  of  the  Creeks,  or  Muskokis.  This  people,  according  to 
their  traditions,  having  immigrated  from  the  West,  crossed  the  Mississippi,  the 
Alabama,  the  Chattahoocb.ee,  and  the  Appalachicola,  whence  their  country  stretched 
towards  the  east,  north,  west,  and  south.  At  the  earliest  period  of  their  settlement 
in  the  East,  at  the  kindling  of  the  council-fire,  or  establishment  of  a  government, 
they  were  located  on  the  river  Altamaha.  There  is  no  doubt  that  they  conquered, 
and  either  killed,  incorporated  with  themselves,  or  ejected,  the  prior  aboriginal 


158  TOE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

inhabitants.  Hawkins  informs  us  that  they  conquered  and  carried  the  Uchees  as 
prisoners  from  the  southern  part  of  South  Carolina.  Oglethorpe,  who  originated 
the  plan  of  the  Georgia  colony  in  the  year  1733,  established  it  in  the  Creek  territory 
lying  between  the  Savannah  and  the  Altamaha.  Like  the  colonies  of  the  Puritans, 
the  Marylanders,  and  the  followers  of  Penn,  the  Georgia  colony  was  designed  to  be, 
and  became,  a  refuge  for  oppressed  and  needy  Europeans.  The  plan  followed  was, 
as  had  been  the  case  in  all  previous  instances  of  colonization,  to  bestow  lands  upon 
and  afford  employment  to  the  colonists,  and  thus  to  enable  them  to  improve  their 
condition  ;  always,  however,  at  least  in  theory,  paying  a  due  regard  to  the  rights  and 
condition  of  the  aborigines.  The  sovereignty  and  the  fee-simple  of  the  territory 
was  held  to  be  vested  in  the  crown,  but  the  right.to  their  usufruct,  until  settled  by 
presents  or  by  actual  purchase,  was  to  be  absolutely  held  by  the  Indians.  The 
question  was  reserved  as  one  for  settlement  by  the  administration,  through  the  usual 
medium  of  treaty,  as  in  all  the  earlier  colonies.  All  had  promised  them  justice, 
kindness,  fair  dealing,  and  all  had  urged  upon  them  the  benefits  to  be  derived  from 
the  promotion  of  agriculture,  arts,  letters,  temperance,  and  every  other  adjunct  of 
civilization.  Oglethorpe  offered  the  Indians  similar  terms  to  those  tendered  them 
by  the  Pilgrims  of  New  England,  by  the  Duke  of  York  in  New  York  and  New 
Jersey,  by  Lord  Baltimore  in  Maryland,  and  by  Penn  in  Pennsylvania.  The 
rewards  arising  from  a  life  of  labor  and  virtue,  and  the  evils  attendant  upon  error, 
were,  in  their  estimation,  in  the  hands  of  the  Indians  themselves.  If  the  natives 
preferred  idleness,  inebriation,  and  vice,  if  through  neglect  they  became  the  victims 
of  disease  and  death,  it  must  be  considered  part  of  that  great  physical  and  moral  law 
which  entails  the  punishment  as  a  sequel  to  the  offence.  If  an  Indian  would  hunt 
deer  instead  of  guiding  the  plough,  if  he  preferred  alcohol  to  water  as  a  beverage, 
and  chose  to  idle  away  his  time  instead  of  improving  it,  the  political  economist  re 
gretted  the  fact,  without  having  the  power  to  deter  him  from  pursuing  his  erroneous 
course. 

For  twenty  years  Oglethorpe  persevered  in  his  scheme  in  the  midst  of  difficulties 
and  discouragements  that  would  have  necessitated  its  abandonment  on  more  than 
one  occasion  but  for  the  unswerving  fidelity  of  the  Indians.  When,  in  1752,  the 
province  was  formed  into  a  royal  government,  it  very  soon  became  the  seat  of 
frightful  Indian  wars.  The  new  authorities  neither  understood  nor  kept  faith  with 
the  Indians,  their  old  friend  Oglethorpe  had  returned  to  England,  and  scenes  of 
treachery  and  massacre  ensued. 

Each  new  colony  established  in  America  gave  to  the  Indian  the  same  lesson 
which  had  been  taught  him  by  its  predecessors.  At  the  outset  civilization  had 
apprised  him  of  its  requirements,  and,  though  he  learned  its  lessons  slowly,  it  was 
hoped  that  he  did  learn,  and  that  he  made  some  progress  in  the  right  direction. 
Hope  induced  perseverance,  furnished  an  apology  for  ignorance,  and  forgave  re 
peated  injury.  The  baptism  of  Manteo,  which  was  performed  in  Virginia  in  1586, 
may  be  regarded  as  indicating  the  outpouring  of  light  at  Cresswicks  in  1744. 


CHAPTER    VI. 

THE    AQUINOSHIONI,   OR    IROQOOIS— GOVERNOR    SHIRLEY'S    WAR— CAPTURE    OF 
LOUISBURO— TREATY  OP  AIX-LA-CHAPELLE— THE  OUTAGAMIES,  OR  FOXES. 

THE  close  of  the  seventeenth  century  appears  to  be  a  suitable  opportunity  for 
taking  further  notice  of  a  people  whose  power  had  then  culminated.  There  were 
but  two  tribes  of  those  that  ranged  the  land  east  of  the  Mississippi,  north  of  the 
Cherokees,  and  east  of  the  Chippewas  of  Lake  Superior,  over  whom  the  Iroquois 
did  not  at  this  early  day  exercise  a  primary  or  a  secondary  influence ;  and  even 
of  those  excepted  tribes,  one  was  seated  one  thousand  miles  to  the  northwest  and 
the  other  one  thousand  miles  to  the  southwest  of  their  council-fire  at  Onondaga. 
The  name  of  Aquinoshioni,  signifying  a  long  house  or  council-lodge,  is  indicative 
of  their  confederate  character.  Tradition  refers  the  origin  of  their  nationality  and 
advancement  to  Tarenyawagon,  a  divinity  who  in  his  social  state  while  on  earth 
assumed  the  name  of  Hiawatha  and  imparted  to  them  the  knowledge  of  all  things 
essential  to  their  prosperity.  The  French,  agreeably  to  their  system,  gave  them  the 
name  of  Iroquois,  a  term  founded  on  two  Indian  radicals,  with  the  Gallic  terminal 
ois  suffixed. 

We  are  informed  by  Colden,  who  wrote  the  history  of  the  Five  Nations,  viz.,  the 
Mohawks,  Senecas,  Oneidas,  Onondagas,  and  Cayugas,  dwelling  near  the  river  and 
the  lakes  that  bear  their  names,  to  the  period  of  the  conclusion  of  the  peace  of 
Ryswick  (1697),  that  the  tribes  composing  this  confederacy  were  not  originally 
deemed  superior  to  their  neighbors.  He  commences  their  history  at  the  epoch  of 
the  settlement  of  Canada  (1608),  at  which  time  he  depicts  them  as  being  inferior  to 
the  Adirondacks,  an  Algonkin  tribe.  They  did  not  equal  the  Northern  group  of 
tribes  either  in  hunting,  war,  or  forest  arts,  though  they  possessed  an  element  of 
subsistence  in  the  cultivation  of  maize.  By  ceasing  to  war  against  one  another,  and 
confederating  for  their  common  defence,  they  laid  the  corner-stone  of  their  national 
establishment,  They  first  tried  their  united  strength  against  the  Satanas,  a  cmel 
j>eople  located  on  their  borders,  with  a  success  which  so  raised  their  spirits  that  they 
at  length  went  to  war  against  the  Adirondacks,  who  had  been  primarily  their  tutors 
in  forest  arts.  After  some  reverses,  they  proved  themselves  an  overmatch  for  the 
latter  in  stratagem,  and  finally  obtained  decisive  victories  over  them  in  the  St. 
Lawrence  Valley. 

Mr.  Colden  notes  in  this  people  a  love  of  liberty  and  a  spirit  of  independence 
which  particularly  mark  them,  but  is  at  a  loss  which  most  to  admire,  their  military 
ardor,  their  political  policy,  or  their  eloquence  in  council.  The  union  of  the  cantons, 
each  possessing  equal  powers,  in  one  council,  was  the  cause  of  their  triumph  among 

159 


160  fRB  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATE& 

hunters  in  the  east,  west,  and  north,  who  acknowledged  no  government  but  that  of 
opinion,  and  followed  no  policy  but  that  actuated  by  revenge  or  indefinable  impulse. 
All  the  weighty  concerns  of  the  Iroquois  were  the  subject  of  full  deliberation  in 
open  council,  and  their  diplomatic  negotiations  were  managed  with  consummate  skilL 
When  the  question  of  peace  or  war  was  decided,  the  counsellors  united  in  chanting 
hymns  of  praise  or  warlike  choruses,  which  at  the  same  time  gave  expression  to  the 
public  feeling  and  imparted  a  kind  of  sanctity  to  the  act  The  majority  of  those 
who  have  given  their  attention  to  Iroquois  history  have  recognized  in  their  public 
acts  the  germs  of  a  national  policy  which  was  suited  to  concentrate  in  their  hands  an 
imperial  sway  which  would  have  been  characterized  by  greater  strength  than  that  of 
the  Aztecs  under  Montezuma,  or  of  the  Peruvians  under  Atahualpa. 

Their  tribal  relations  being  conducted  according  to  fixed  principles,  so  also  were 
their  commercial  affairs  placed  under  a  system  equally  stable.  A  short  time  subse 
quently  to  the  arrival  of  Hudson  and  the  building  of  Fort  Orange,  they  formed  a 
close  alliance  with  the  Dutch,  who  regarded  the  gains  of  commerce  as  the  most 
decided  advantage  to  be  derived  from  their  colony.  They  furnished  the  Indian 
warriors  with  guns,  powder,  flints,  strouds,  blankets,  hatchets,  knives,  pipes,  and  all 
other  articles  necessary  for  the  successful  prosecution  of  the  fur-trade,  which  was 
conducted  on  a  basis  so  advantageous  to  both  that  the  mutual  friendship  then  con 
tracted  was  never  broken.  With  the  river  Indians  of  the  Algonkin  type,  who  lived 
in  the  same  state  of  discord  and  anarchy  as  the  other  tribes,  there  occurred  several, 
and  some  very  serious,  quarrels,  but  the  union  of  the  Iroquois  and  Dutch  was 
intimate,  and  never  more  so  than  when  the  province  was  surrendered  to  the  Duke  of 
York,  in  1664.  By  the  terms  of  this  surrender  the  good  will  of  the  Iroquois  was 
secured  to  the  English.  The  trade  with  the  Indians  was  wholly  in  the  hands  of 
Dutch  merchants  and  traders,  and  their  interpreters,  who  continued  to  conduct  it. 
They  had  extended  this  traffic  through  Western  New  York  to  the  so-called  "  Far 
Indians,"  at  Detroit,  Saginaw,  and  Michilimackinac,  where  there  are  still  some  of 
their  descendants.1  As  the  Iroquois  had  for  a  long  period  held  the  balance  of 
aboriginal  power  in  this  part  of  America,  this  influence  became  very  important  to 
the  English,  and  was  analogous  to  the  Algonkin  alliance  with  the  French,  which, 
after  the  fall  of  Quebec,  was  also  transferred  to  the  English. 

The  attachment  of  the  Iroquois  to  the  English  alone  saved  Western  New  York 
from  becoming  a  French  colony.  From  the  time  of  the  action  with  Champlain,  that 
commander  having  supplied  his  Indian  allies  with  guns,  the  Iroquois  had  been 
prejudiced  against  the  French  nation.  At  sundry  periods  they  repelled  the  invasions 
of  De  la  Barre,  Denonville,  and  Frontenac,  and  they  also  resisted  the  establishment 
of  missions  at  Oneida,  Onondaga,  and  Ontario.  Their  delegates  frequently  stood  in 
the  presence  of  the  Governor-General  at  Quebec,  with  wily  dexterity  counteracting 
plot  by  counter-plot.  In  truth,  they  defended  the  territory  till  the  English  colonies 

1  ID  these  distant  localities  we  still  hear  of  such  names  as  Hance,  Riley,  Truaz,  Ten  Eyck,  Graven*!, 
Pinner,  Wanip,  Yon,  and  Wiser. 


WAR   OF  RACES— EARLY  COLONIAL  HISTORY.  161 

became  strong  enough  to  protect  it  themselves.  In  the  year  1726,  by  skilful  man 
agement,  the  French  succeeded  in  establishing  a  permanent  military  post  at  Niagara, 
within  the  limits  of  the  confederacy. 

The  French  had  found  themselves  so  severely  taxed  to  resist  the  Iroquois  that 
the  conclusion  of  the  peace  of  Ryswick  was  most  welcome  news  at  the  castle  of  St. 
Louis.  Golden  observes  that  the  French  commissioners  who  conveyed  the  intelli 
gence  of  this  peace  to  the  Onondaga  country,  and  by  negotiation  secured  their  assent 
to  it,  likewise  esteemed  it  a  blessing.  To  the  French,  heaven  could  not  have  sent  a 
greater.  "  For  nothing,"  it  is  remarked,  "  could  be  more  terrible  to  Canada  than 
the  last  war  with  the  Five  Nations.  While  this  war  lasted,  the  inhabitants  ate  their 
bread  with  fear  and  trembling.  No  man  was  sure,  when  out  of  his  house,  of  ever 
returning  to  it  again.  While  they  labored  in  the  fields  they  were  under  perpetual 
apprehensions  of  being  seized  or  killed,  or  carried  to  the  Indian  country,  there  to 
end  their  days  in  cruel  torments.  They  many  times  were  forced  to  neglect  both 
seed-time  and  harvest.  The  landlord  often  saw  all  his  land  plundered,  his  houses 
burned,  and  the  whole  country  ruined,  while  the  French  thought  their  persons  not 
safe  in  their  fortifications.  In  short,  all  trade  and  business  was  often  at  an  entire 
stand,  while  fear,  despair,  and  misery  appeared  on  the  face  of  the  poor  inhabitants." 

Governor  Clinton  calls  the  Iroquois  the  Romans  of  the  West.  Charlevoix,  who 
visited  the  shores  of  Lake  Ontario  in  1721,  fancied  that  he  perceived  a  Greek  element 
in  their  language.  While  forming  some  Iroquois  vocabularies  in  Western  New  York 
in  1845,  Mr.  Schoolcraft  found  it  to  possess  a  dual  number. 

The  war  of  the  Austrian  succession,  known  to  New  England  annals  as  Gov 
ernor  Shirley's  war,  was  declared  by  France  against  England  March  15,  1744-45. 
The  news  reached  Canada  a  month  earlier  than  it  did  New  England,  and  the  French 
and  Indians  promptly  began  the  work  of  destruction.  Shirley  at  once  raised  five 
hundred  men  for  frontier  service,  three  hundred  of  them  on  the  eastern  border,  and 
two  hundred  for  the  protection  of  the  upper  valley  of  the  Connecticut.  The  General 
Court  of  Massachusetts  Bay  ordered^the  erection  of  a  line  of  forts  from  the  Con 
necticut  River  to  the  boundary  of  New  York,  and  a  supply  of  powder  was  sent  to 
the  exposed  settlements. 

In  1731  the  French  had,  with  great  foresight,  built  Fort  St.  Frederick  at  Crown 
Point,  the  key  to  the  English  settlements  bordering  on  Canada.  Fort  Oswego  had 
been  built  by  Governor  Burnet  in  1727,  at  his  own  expense,  to  offset  the  erection  by 
the  French  of  Fort  Niagara,  at  the  entrance  of  the  Niagara  River  into  Lake  Ontario. 
As  has  been  previously  stated,  the  French  had  in  their  intercourse  with  the  Indians 
been  far  more  politic  than  the  English,  and  therefore  easily  drew  them  into  their 
wars  against  the  latter. 

A  conference  between  the  Six  Nations  and  the  Commissioner  for  Indian  Affairs 
was  held  June  18, 1744,  at  Albany,  agreeably  to  the  request  of  the  Governor  of  New 
York,  at  which  the  Indians  pledged  themselves  to  stand  by  their  English  friends  in 
case  they  were  attacked.  Except  by  a  few  of  the  Mohawks,  this  agreement  was 
faithfully  kept 

n—21 


162  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

On  the  18th  of  May  the  fort  of  Canso  was  surprised  by  M.  Duvivier,  with  a 
French  party,  and  its  garrison  of  eighty  were  carried  captive  to  Louisburg.  On  the 
30th  the  priest  La  Loutre,  with  about  six  hundred  Marechite  and  Micrnac  Indians, 
invested  Annapolis  Royal.  Though  in  no  condition  to  stand  a  siege,  it  was  success 
fully  defended  by  Governor  Mascarene  until  relieved  by  Captain  Edward  Tyng  with 
a  force  from  Massachusetts,  when  it  was  immediately  put  in  repair. 

Louisburg,  the  strongest  fortress  of  North  America,  was  captured  June  17, 1745, 
by  the  New  England  forces  under  General  William  Pepperell,  aided  by  a  British 
fleet  under  Commodore  Warren,  after  a  siege  of  seven  weeks.  Hostilities  with  the 
Penobscot  tribe  began  near  Fort  George  (Thomaston)  on  July  19,  when  a  man 
was  killed,  a  garrison-house  and  saw-mill  burnt,  and  forty  cattle  slaughtered.  One 
man  was  taken  prisoner,  and  a  woman  wounded.  This  was  the  beginning  of  a  long 
catalogue  of  horrors. 

Another  conference  was  held  at  Albany  with  the  Six  Nations  October  5, 1745, 
at  which  were  present  commissioners  from  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  and  New 
England,  the  Indians  renewing  their  covenant  to  take  up  the  hatchet  against  the 
,  French  and  Indian  enemy  whenever  called  upon  to  do  so  by  the  Governor  of  New 
York.  On  November  10,  three  hundred  French  and  two  hundred  Indians,  com 
manded  by  M.  Marin,  destroyed  the  Dutch  settlement  at  Saratoga.  Thirty  persons 
were  killed,  and  about  sixty  captured.  Many  of  the  latter  sickened  and  died  in  the 
prison  at  Quebec.  A  large  extent  of  country  was  ravaged  by  this  party,  houses  and 
mills  were  burnt,  and  all  the  cattle  killed.  On  April  22, 1746,  the  little  garrison  of 
eight  men  at  New  Hopkinton  was  surprised  and  captured.  Next  day  an  unsuccessful 
attack  was  made  by  about  one  hundred  Indians  upon  the  garrison  of  Upper  Ashuelot 
(Keene),  New  Hampshire.  Six  houses  and  a  barn  were  burned,  and  two  persons 
killed. 

Fort  "Number  Four"  (Charlestown,  New  Hampshire)  was  by  its  situation  a 
point  of  great  importance,  and  was  frequently  attacked  by  the  Indians,  as  it  stood  in 
the  way  of  their  incursions  upon  the  settlements  below.  On  June  19  a  large  body 
of  them  posted  themselves  in  ambush  about  it  Its  commander,  Captain  Phinchas 
Stevens,  while  out  with  fifty  men,  became  aware  of  their  presence,  and  after  a  sharp 
conflict  routed  them  with  loss.  On  July  10,  a  party  of  Captain  Rouse's  men,  while 
on  shore  at  Prince  Edward's  Island,  were  surprised  by  two  hundred  Micmac  Indians} 
and  twenty-eight  of  them  killed  or  captured.  August  20,  Fort  Massachusetts,  on 
the  Hoosic  River,  near  the  northwest  corner  of  the  State,  was  invested  by  seven 
or  eight  hundred  Indians  and  French  under  Rigaud  de  Vaudreuil.  Its  garrison 
of  twenty-two  men  surrendered  next  day,  and  were  taken  to  Canada.  Three  women 
and  five  children,  also  in  the  fort,  shared  their  captivity.  Rev.  John  Norton,  chap 
lain  of  the  fort,  on  his  return  from  a  year's  captivity,  published  an  account  of  the 
affair,  entitled  "  The  Redeemed  Captive." 

In  November,  1746,  a  party  of  Mohawks,  among  whom  was  "  King"  Hendrick, 
made  a  successful  raid  into  Canada.  Colonel  Arthur  Noble,  with  seven  hundred 
men,  undertook,  in  January,  1747,  to  drive  the  French  and  Indians  out  of  Nova 


WAR   OF  RACES— EARLY  COLONIAL  HISTORY.  163 

Scotia.  "While  on  his  way,  he  was  surprised  in  his  camp  by  a  superior  force,  and  he, 
with  four  of  his  principal  officers  and  seventy  men,  was  killed,  the  remainder  being 
taken  prisoners.  Early  in  April  "  Number  Four"  was  again  successfully  defended 
by  Captain  Stevens  against  a  large  force  of  French  and,  Indians,  who  for  three  days 
invested  it,  and  tried,  by  shooting  fire-arrows  and  by  other  methods,  to  compel  its 
brave  little  garrison  of  thirty  men  to  surrender. 

On  June  15  the  fort  at  Saratoga  was  attacked  by  two  thousand  French  and 
Indians,  who  killed  sixty  of  the  garrison.  The  place  was  soon  after  relieved  by 
Colonel  Schuyler.  June  26,  1748,  a  severe  conflict  occurred  near  "  Number  Four," 
between  a  party  of  forty  men  under  Captain  Hobbs,  and  a  more  numerous  Indian 
force  who  had  waylaid  them.  Notwithstanding  the  disparity  of  numbers,  Hobbs 
stood  h  is  ground,  fighting  bravely  for  four  hours,  when  he  fortunately  got  a  shot  at 
the  Indian  leader,  whom  he  either  killed  or  badly  wounded,  as  the  Indians  there 
upon  drew  off.  In  this  well-contested  fight  the  Indian  loss  exceeded  that  of  the 
whites.  The  news  of  the  peace  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  was  not  known  in  Boston  until 
six  months  after  its  conclusion,  Indian  hostilities  meantime  continuing,  but  early  in 
1749  overtures  of  peace  were  sent  to  the  New  England  authorities,  commissioners 
met  the  Indian  deputies  at  Falmouth  (Portland,  Maine)  October  14,  and  on  the 
16th  articles  of  peace  were  drawn  up  and  signed. 

The  Yamassees  and  the  Tuscaroras  in  the  South  were  not  the  only  tribes  who, 
about  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century,  evinced  a  spirit  of  hostility  and 
commenced  a  series  of  massacres  and  a  war  of  extermination  against  the  whites. 
Partial  as  the  Indians  were  to  the  French,  there  were  two  nations  whom  the  latter 
could  not  control.  These  were  the  Iroquois,  and  the  Outagamies  or  Foxes. 

Who  the  Outagamies  were  is  not  known,  and  their  early  history  is  a  blank.  It 
has  been  inferred  from  their  language  that  they  were  Algonkins,  who  used  the  Lenni 
Lenape  pronunciation,  in  which  an  I  is  substituted  for  n,  giving  to  their  speech  a 
more  liquid  flow.  They  appear  at  an  early  day  to  have  been  ejected  from  or  forsaken 
by  the  Algonkin  family  and  political  organizations.  Their  traditions  refer  to  a 
primitive  residence  at  the  site  of  Caturaqui,  where  it  may  be  supposed  they  formed 
an  intimacy  with  the  Iroquois ;  and,  if  so,  they  were  probably  one  of  the  tribes  who 
built  those  immense  ossuaries  spread  over  the  interior  of  Upper  Canada. 

In  1712,  this  tribe,  swayed  probably  by  the  Iroquois  influence,  attempted  to 
destroy  Detroit,  and,  as  in  all  similar  cases,  their  movements  were  secret  and  the 
attack  sudden.  There  were  then  but  twenty  soldiers  in  the  fort.  Under  various 
pretexts  the  Indians  gathered  in  that  vicinity,  but  the  plot  was  revealed  in  time  to 
save  the  fort.  The  assault  was  made  on  the  13th  of  May,  but  on  the  same  day  the 
commandant  was  greeted  by  the  voices  of  a  numerous  party  of  friendly  Wyandots, 
Ottawas,  and  Pottawatomies,  who  routed  the  assailants.  The  Outagamies  then 
retreated  to  an  entrenched  camp  near  at  hand,  but,  becoming  finally  straitened  for 
food  and  water,  they  were  forced  to  sally  out  and  take  possession  of  a  house  nearer 
the  fort,  whence  they  discharged  a  destructive  volley  of  lighted  arrows,  which  set  fire 
to  the  houses  within  the  works.  Eventually  defeated,  they  retired  to  a  peninsula 


164  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

jutting  out  into  Lake  St  Clair,  where  they  repelled  a  furious  assault  of  the  French 
and  their  savage  allies.  After  several  days'  preparation,  during  which  artillery  was 
brought  from  the  fort,  their  position  was  stormed,  many  were  killed,  and  the  rest 
were  forced  to  flee  to  the  upper  lakes,  where  they  located  themselves  on  Fox  River, 
flowing  into  Green  Bay.  Here  the  sequel  of  their  history  fully  accords  with  the 
account  given  by  the  French  of  their  cunning  and  perfidy.  They  harassed  traders 
at  all  the  portages  leading  to  the  Mississippi  River,  and  spread  war  and  alarm  in  all 
directions  as  far  as  Lake  Superior.  Being  at  length  besieged  by  the  French  com 
mander,  De  Louvigney,  with  a  competent  force,  at  a  selected  position,  since  called 
on  account  of  this  event  Butte  des  Morts,  or  Hill  of  the  Dead,  they  were  overcome, 
and  suffered  immense  slaughter,  after  which  the  survivors  fled  to  the  banks  of  the 
Wisconsin.  They  were  nearly  destroyed,  and  received  no  further  notice  in  our 
Indian  history  until  within  the  present  century. 

In  1712,  at  the  time  of  the  Fox  assault  on  the  fort  of  Detroit,  the  Iroquois  nation 
comprised  five  tribes  or  cantons,  namely,  the  Mohawks,  Oneidas,  Onondagas,  Cayugas, 
and  Senecas.  The  same  year  they  were  joined  by  the  Tuscaroras  from  North  Caro 
lina,  making  the  sixth  canton.  The  latter,  once  a  powerful  tribe,  had  been  nearly 
annihilated  by  the  North  Carolina  forces,  assisted  by  a  body  of  men  under  Colonel 
Barnwell,  of  South  Carolina.  The  accession  of  the  Tuscaroras,  however  it  might 
have  pleased  the  cantonal  government,  could  have  added  but  little  to  the  efficiency 
of  a  people  who  had  from  the  earliest  times  been  the  terror  of  other  Indian  tribes. 
Colden  informs  us  that  the  Iroquois  cantons  had  first  attained  power  by  their  con 
federation,  their  wisdom  in  council,  their  policy  in  the  adoption  of  conquered  tribes, 
and  their  superior  bravery  in  war.  Governor  Clinton  tells  us  that  their  acquisition 
of  power  was  much  facilitated  by  their  advantageous  location  in  Western  New  York, 
in  a  region  abounding  in  game,  of  unsurpassed  fertility  of  soil,  and  situated  at  the 
head  of  many  large  and  leading  streams,  down  which  they  could  suddenly  make 
their  forays,  after  the  successful  execution  of  which  they  might  return  by  land. 

All  the  tribes  in  an  east-and-west  line  between  Lake  Champlain,  the  Connecticut, 
and  the  Illinois,  acknowledged  the  supremacy  of  the  Iroquois.  North  and  south 
their  sway  extended  from  the  mouths  of  the  Hudson,  the  Delaware,  and  the  Susque- 
hanna,  to  the  great  lakes ;  thence  northwardly  to  the  Ontawis,  or  Grand  River,  of 
Canada,  to  Michilimackinac,  and  to  the  entrance  of  Lake  Superior.  In  1608,  under 
the  name  of  Massawomacks,  they  were  the  terror  of  the  Powhatanic  tribe  of  Virginia ; 
as  Mingoes,  they  spread  their  dominion  over  Ohio ;  and  as  Nadowassies,  they  were 
the  foes  of  all  the  Algonkin  or  Adirondack  races.  At  periods  anterior  to  the  arrival 
of  the  colonists  they  had  prevailed  over  the  once  proud  and  powerful  Lenni  Lenape, 
and  placed  them  subjugo.  They  threatened  the  very  existence  of  Canada.  Tribes 
whom  they  could  not  subject  to  their  stern  policy  were  exterminated  by  the  club  and 
the  tomahawk. 

It  became  a  part  of  the  policy  of  all  the  colonies  to  conciliate  such  a  people ; 
consequently  they  were  in  fact  parties  to  all  important  Indian  treaties  formed  during 
the  period  of  our  early  history,  and  until  the  colonies  finally  achieved  their  indepen- 


WAR   OF  RACES— EARLY  COLONIAL  HISTORY.  165 

tlence.  In  every  negotiation  involving  the  question  of  boundaries,  or  the  termination 
of  a  war,  the  first  demand  was,  What  will  the  Iroquois  do?  They  still  in  reality 
held  the  balance  of  power. 

The  war  of  .races  was  not  ended  by  the  treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle.  The  red 
man  still  cherished  the  hope  of  repossessing  himself  of  his  old  hunting-grounds  and 
the  graves  of  his  fathers,  but  that  hope  grew  fainter  and  fainter  as  time  rolled  on 
and  as  year  by  year  he  saw  the  constantly  increasing  tide  of  white  settlers  advancing 
and  pushing  him  still  farther  towards  the  setting  sun.  Pontiac  and  Tecumseh  were 
yet  to  attempt  the  patriotic  but  useless  struggle,  and  to  prove  by  their  heroism  that 
they  belonged  to  a  race  whose  savage  virtues  afford  a  sure  basis  upon  which  a  higher 
civilization  may  yet  be  engrafted. 


PERIOD   IV. 

FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND  CONTEND  FOB  THE  POSSESSION  OF  THE  OHIO 

VALLEY. 


CHAPTER    L 

POLICY  OP  PBANCR-HER  INDIAN  ALLIES— POLICY  OP  ENGLAND— THE  IROQUOIS— 
SIB  WILLIAM  JOHNSON— THE  OHIO  COMPANY— WASHINGTON. 

THE  close  of  the  seventeenth  century  was  marked  by  events  which  excite  in  us  a 
more  than  usual  degree  of  interest  The  settlements  made  at  Biloxi,  and  on  other 
parts  of  the  open  shores  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  during  the  latter  years  of  this 
century,  were  followed  by  the  location  of  others  in  the  Mississippi  Valley.  New 
Orleans  was  founded  in  1719.  La  Salle  by  his  exploration  of  the  Mississippi  River 
had  developed  important  facts  in  North  American  geography.  Such  a  river,  with 
such  a  valley,  could  be  paralleled  in  the  Old  World  only  by  the  Nile,  the  Ganges, 
and  the  Niger,  and  in  the  New  only  by  the  Amazon,  the  La  Plata,  and  the  Orinoco 
of  South  America.  But  those  streams,  although  flowing  through  regions  possessing 
an  equally  fertile  soil,  are  excelled  by  the  Mississippi  in  the  climate  and  sanitary 
advantages  of  the  country  in  its  vicinage. 

The  foundation  of  the  city  of  New  Orleans  furnished  a  depot  for  the  products  of 
a  region  whose  extent  and  resources  could  scarcely  be  estimated.  This  entire  terri 
tory,  extending  to  the  sources  of  the  Arkansas,  the  Ohio,  and  the  Missouri,  as  well 
as  to  the  great  chain  of  lakes,  was  filled  with  Indians  of  various  names  and  families, 
who  roved  in  wild  independence  over  its  plains  and  through  its  forests,  contributing 
to  a  new  and  attractive  branch  of  commerce, — the  fur-trade.  To  wield  political 
influence  among  them  was,  in  fact,  to  secure  the  most  direct  means  of  promoting 
colonial  success.  The  fine  sylvan  country  of  the  Illinois  had  from  the  period  of  its 
first  discovery  been  the  universal  theme  of  admiration.  At  an  early  day  the  French 
were  not  only  established  at  Kaskaskia  and  Cahokia,  but  their  settlements,  having 
become  the  head-quarters  of  ecclesiastical  and  commercial  functionaries,  were  con 
tinued  up  the  Wabash,  the  Ohio,  the  Illinois,  and  the  Wisconsin,  where  they  were 
met  by  similar  establishments  diverging  from  Quebec  and  Montreal.  From  this 
period  may  be  dated  the  renewed  prosperity  of  New  France. 

Fort  Niagara,  which  commanded  the  Iroquois  borders,  had  been  founded  as  early 
IOC 


FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND  AND   THE  OHIO    VALLEY. 

ns  1G70;  Michilimackinnc,  on  the  upper  lakes,  was  erected  in  1680;  Fort  Oswego, 
the  ancient  Gliuna,  was  built  in  1727,  Detroit  in  1701,  Vincennes  in  1710,  and  a 
short  time  subsequently  a  series  of  minor  posts  extending  along  the  lake  shores  from 
Green  Buy  and  St.  Joseph's  to  the  Miami  (Maumee)  of  the  Lakes,  and  the  Sandusky, 
and  thence  to  Presque  Isle,  on  Lake  Erie.  Among  all  the  Indian  tribes  inhabiting 
these  regions  the  French  king,  French  power  and  liberality,  and  French  manners 
•were  spoken  of  with  praise  and  regarded  with  admiration. 

The  social  teachings  and  manners  of  the  French,  so  opposite  to  those  of  the 
English,  furnish  a  true  means  of  estimating  the  relative  positions  held  by  the  two 
leading  races  of  Europe,  who  were  so  long  opposed  to  each  other  on  this  continent, 
in  the  estimation  of  the  Indians.  The  French  peisantry,  who  were  in  constant 
intercourse  with  them,  did  not  themselves  profess  or  practise  a  very  high  standard 
of  morality,  and  were  therefore  the  more  acceptable  to  the  natives,  whose  customs, 
manners,  and  opinions  they  at  once  adopted.  They  never  ridiculed  their  religious 
rites,  and  freely  selected  their  wives  from  the  tribes  among  whom  they  pursued  their 
vocations  as  boatmen,  "  merchant  voyageurs,"  and  runners  to  collect  credits  in  the 
fur-trade.  The  courcur  dcs  boi*  and  the  Indian  resembled  each  other  in  a  thousand 
little  notions  regarding  tastes,  food,  and  dress.  The  Frenchman  did  not  think  the 
wigwam  a  dirty  or  disgusting  place,  and  he  went  to  gaze  with  complacency  at  the 
Indians'  wabeno  and  medicine  dances.  He  was  not  sure  that  necromancy  and  spirit- 
worship  were  altogether  wrong,  readily  learned  the  Indian  language,  fabricated 
canoes  of  the  finest  pattern,  and  soon  acquired  a  reputation  superior  even  to  that 
of  the  Indians  for  navigating  those  light  and  beautiful  vessels.  He  smoked  the 
Indian's  sacred  weed  as  they  socially  travelled  together,  and  the  native,  under  the 
guidance  of  his  white  friend,  chanted  the  Frenchman's  gay  songs  with  the  liveliest 
emotion.  In  his  social  chats  the  Frenchman  represented  the  "  Grand  Monarque" 
as  superior  to  all  other  sovereigns,  and  contrasted  the  relative  power  of  the  kings 
of  England  and  France  with  n  partiality  that  placed  the  latter  above  all  comparison. 
To  interest  the  Indian,  conversation  must  be  plain,  simple,  and  adapted  to  his  com 
prehension,  and  in  these  characteristics  no  class  of  persons  luivc  ever  equalled  the 
French. 

Such  was  the  progress  made  by  her  new  ecclesiastical  establishments  that  a  com 
missioner  of  high  standing  was  deputed  by  the  court  of  France  to  visit  the  Western 
posts  and  tribes.  Charlevoix,  who  performed  this  task,  and  whose  journal  and 
history  furnish  proofs  of  the  zeal  and  learning  he  displayed,  journeyed  from  Quebec 
through  the  chain  of  lakes  to  the  Mississippi,  which,  in  1721,  he  descended  to  New 
Orleans.  He  made  a  thorough  investigation  into  the  history  and  condition  of  the 
tribes,  the  results  of  which  he  reported  to  his  government.  In  his  era  the  worship 
of  an  eternal  fire  was  still  found  to  exist  among  the  Natchez,  or  Chigantualga 
Indians,  who  accompanied  its  rites  with  imposing  ceremonies. 

The  possession  of  the  Mississippi  Valley  was  in  reality  the  prize  for  which  all 
these  exertions  were  made,  and  the  British  colonies  soon  became  aware  that  a  chain 
of  military  posts,  extending  from  New  Orleans  to  Quebec,  was  about  to  environ  them. 


168  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Under  the  rule  of  Frontenac,  the  ablest  of  Canadian  statesmen,  occurred  the  first 
serious  collision  of  the  rival  powers,  marking  the  opening  of  the  grand  scheme  of 
military  occupation  by  which  France  strove  to  secure  pre-eminence  in  the  New 
World.  One  of  Frontenac's  first  measures  was  the  erection  on  Lake  Ontario  of  the 
fort  bearing  his  name.  He  had  remarkable  tact  in  dealing  with  the  Indians,  con 
forming  to  their  ways,  borrowing  their  rhetoric,  flattering  them  adroitly,  and'  yet 
constantly  maintaining  towards  them  an  attitude  of  paternal  superiority.  His  plans 
would  probably  have  succeeded,  but  for  the  miserable  colonial  policy  of  France. 
This  was  restrictive  in  spirit,  favored  monopolies,  and  taught  the  colonists  to  look  to 
the  home  government  upon  all  occasions  instead  of  relying  upon  themselves.  This 
lesson  they  might  have  learned  from  their  neighbors,  the  English  colonists,  whose 
planting  and  growth  afforded  a  striking  exemplification  of  the  opposite  policy. 

In  1687  the  Canadian  authorities  with  great  formality  repossessed  themselves  of 
the  Straits  of  Detroit,  commemorating  the  event  by  the  issue  of  a  protocol.  In 
1749  the  Governor-General  of  Canada  caused  leaden  plates,  bearing  suitable  in 
scriptions,  to  be  nailed  to  trees,  and  others  to  be  buried  beneath  the  earth,  in  the 
Ohio  Valley,  as  a  testimony  of  the  reoccupation  of  that  valley  by  the  French. 
They  aimed  at  least  to  make  the  record  strong.  But  a  fraction  over  fifty  years  had 
elapsed  when  these  posts  were  extended  up  the  Ohio  to  its  source  at  the  junction  of 
the  Monongahela  and  the  Alleghany,  where  Fort  Du  Quesne  was  built  in  1753- 
The  comprehensive  and  vigorous  movements  of  the  French  secured  the  influence 
of  the  tribes,  whom  they  supplied  with  goods,,  wares,  and  merchandise  at  all  the 
posts.  Virginia,  the  Carolinas,  Pennsylvania,  and  Maryland  were  the  first  to  take 
the  alarm.  The  French  assumed  the  sovereignty  of  the  country  by  right  of  its  dis 
covery  by  La  Salle,  and  in  a  short  time  the  Western  tribes  Attacked  the  Southern 
and  Western  frontiers  with  a  vigor  which  threatened  the  annihilation  of  the  colonies. 

In  1728  the  Shawnees  and  Delawares,  pressed  by  the  Iroquois,  and  feeling  the 
encroachments  of  the  advancing  settlements,  fled  across  the  Alleghanies  to  the  Ohio 
Valley.  The  Iroquois  power  had  long  previously  driven  a  part  of  the  Lenni  Lenape 
in  the  same  direction. 

It  is  estimated  that  in  1736,  when  at  the  height  of  their  power  in  America,  the 
French  exercised  a  control  over  one  hundred  and  three  tribes,  comprising  a  total  of 
sixteen  thousand  four  hundred  and  three  warriors,  and  a  population  of  eighty-two 
thousand  souls.  It  no  longer  admitted  of  a  doubt  that  the  object  of  the  French 
was,  by  drawing  this  line  around  the  colonies,  to  prevent  them  from  extending  their 
possessions  to  the  westward  beyond  the  summits  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains.  Such, 
indeed,  was  the  boast  of  some  of  the  leading  Indian  chiefs,  who  regarded  the  English 
as  the  nation  which  designed  to  infringe  on  their  forest  domains,  to  impose  upon 
them  the  yoke  of  labor  and  letters,  and  to  tread  out  their  very  existence.  The  san 
guinary  inroads  of  the  French  and  their  savage  allies  on  the  frontiers  first  brought 
the  youthful  Washington  into  the  field.  He  was  but  sixteen  years  of  age,  when,  in 
1748,  he  made  his  first  exploratory  trip  in  that  direction.  Five  years  subsequently 
he  undertook  his  perilous  official  journey  to  the  French  post  on  Lake  Erie,  thus 


FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND  AND   THE  OHIO    VALLEY.  J09 

obtaining  his  first  knowledge  of  the  habits  of  a  subtle  foe,  whose  instability  of 
purpose  and  cruelty  of  character  required  perpetual  vigilance. 

With  respect  to  the  great  lake  basins,  they  were  at  an  early  date  in  possession 
of  the  French.  Lake  Ontario  was  commanded  by  Forts  Cataraqui,  Niagara,  and 
Oswego,  Erie  was  secured  by  the  location  of  Fort  Le  Nou  on  the  Straits  of  Detroit, 
and  Lake  Huron  by  Fort  St.  Joseph  (the  site  of  the  modern  Gratiot),  situated  at  the 
head  of  the  river  St.  Clair,  as  also  by  the  old  insular  fort  of  Michilimackinac.  Lake 
Superior  was  overlooked  by  the  fort  of  St.  Mary's,  on  the  Straits  of  St.  Mary,  and 
by  that  of  Madeline,  at  Chegoimegon  ;  Michigan  by  a  fort  on  Green  Bay,  by  another 
at  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Joseph's  River,  and  by  the  post  at  Chicago.  Small  vessels 
transported  arms  and  supplies  to  the  various  posts,  and  the  heavy  bateaux  of  the 
French,  or  the  light  Algonkin  canoes,  kept  up  a  constant  intercourse  between  the 
posts  and  missions  both  by  night  and  day.  The  English  colonial  governors,  accus 
tomed  to  the  dilatory  movements  of  their  own  regular  soldiers  and  sailors,  could 
scarcely  conceive  of  the  celerity  with  which  intelligence  was  communicated. 

The  jealousy  and  hatred  existing  between  the  tribes  prevented  extensive  hostile 
combinations  against  the  English,  and  proved  the  salvation  of  the  colonies.  Every 
large  tribe,  from  the  era  of  the  settlement  of  Virginia  to  that  of  Georgia,  deemed 
itself  superior  to  all  others,  boasted  of  its  prowess,  and  despised  its  enemies.  The 
continent  had  been  overrun  by  predatory  bands  long  before  its  discovery  by  the 
Europeans,  and  at  that  period  the  tribes  were  living  in  a  state  of  intestine  anarchy 
and  outward  war.  When,  the  colonists  landed  and  began  to  hold  intercourse  with 
them,  every  little  tribe  exercised  an  independent  sovereignty,  sold  lands,  and  prose 
cuted  wars.  Of  the  several  stocks  who  claimed  to  live  in  a  state  of  association  or 
confederation,  the  Iroquois  alone  possessed  anything  like  a  fixed  system.  The  Mus- 
kokis,  or  Creeks,  assumed  to  be  a  confederacy  of  seven  tribes,  but  their  association 
was  so  loosely  organized,  so  destitute  of  governmental  power,  that  it  could  not  make 
levies,  procure  volunteers,  mete  out  punishment*,  or  grant  rewards.  The  Algonkins 
assimilated  in  their  tribal  character  and  peculiar  customs,  but  every  tribe  acted  as  it 
pleased,  without  respect  to  any  governmental  rule.  The  seven  tribes  of  the  Dakotas 
styled  themselves  a  united  people;  the  Pokanokets  went  to  war  single-handed  against 
uil  New  England ;  the  Tuscaroras  determined  to  destroy  North  Carolina  at  a  blow ; 
the  Yamassees  undertook  to  brave,  if  not  to  cope  with,  South  Carolina ;  and  the 
tribe  of  the  Foxes  imprudently  resolved,  without  any  auxiliaries  but  the  Sauks,  or 
original  occupants  of  Saginaw,1  to  drive  the  French  out  of  Michigan. 

The  refractory  tribes  of  New  England,  who  had  either  submitted  to  the  colonists 
or  had  been  conquered  by  them  and  fled,  derived  sympathy  and  efficient  aid  from  the 
Canadian  authorities.  The  Pequot  refugees,  who  had  found  shelter  from  the 
Mohawks  and  been  permitted  to  settle  on  a  tributary  of  the  North  River  under  the 
name  of  Schagticokes,  finally  fled  to  Lower  Canada.  The  entire  canton  of  St.  Regis 

1  The  modem  Saginaws  are  renegades  and  refugees  from  the  Chippewa  stock,  who  fled  to  and  reocrupied 
the  original  town  abandoned  by  the  Sauks. 

n— 22 


170  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

originally  comprised  refugees  of  the  Iroquois,  who  had  refused  to  submit  either  to 
the  religious  teachings  or  to  the  political  influence  of  the  English. 

The  tribal  and  international  movements  throughout  the  entire  country  were 
controlled,  with  the  sole  exception  of  those  of  the  important  cantons  of  the  Iroquois, 
by  the  general  policy  and  influence  of  the  French,  and  tended  to  the  furtherance 
of  the  French  colonial  interests.  It  was  observed  at  an  early  day  by  the  English 
governors,  aud  by  the  commanders  on  the  frontiers,  that  a  cordon  of  tribes  friendly 
to  the  French  occupied  the  whole  of  the  immense  line  extending  from  Quebec  to  New 
Orleans,  and  every  decade  of  the  existence  of  the  British  colonies  appeared  to 
increase  the  apprehensions  of  evil  impending  from  this  quarter.  This  policy  of  the 
French  was  not  a  recent  one,  but  can  be  traced  back  to  the  earliest  times.  From  the 
period  when  Donnaconna  was  taken  to  France,  and  Agahonna  was  greeted  as  the 
forest  monarch  of  Hochelaga,  it  had  been  a  primary  policy  of  the  Gallic  authorities 
to  secure  the  influence  of  the  Indian  tribes.  Two  great  stocks  of  tribes  constituted 
the  leading  executors  of  the  French  policy. 

Along  the  north  shore  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  from  the  Three  Rivers  as  far  as  the 
.  entrance  of  the  Ottawa  River,  the  coast  was  occupied  by  tribes  of  the  generic  stock 
to  whom  was  given  the  name  of  Algonkins.  Both  shores  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  below 
the  point  denoted,  as  far  down  as  Gaspe"  Bay,  including  Tadousac  and  the  island  of 
Orleans,  were  covered  by  parties  of  the  Iroquois  of  the  Wyandot  branch.  The 
governmental  seat  and  council-fire  of  this  tribe  were'located  on  the  mountain-island 
of  Hochelaga,  to  which  Cartier  gave  the  name  of  Montreal.  A  close  alliance  was 
formed  with  the  Algonkin  tribes,  and  also  with  the  Wyandots,  or  Hurons.  The 
Wyandots  affirm  themselves  to  have  been  the  parent  tribe  of  the  Iroquois,  and, 
although  they  do  not  appear  to  have  been  a  member  of  the  confederacy  of  the  Five 
Nations,  they  were  then  on  the  most  amicable  terms  with  them.  Their  offence 
against  the  Five  Nations  was  that  they  had  offered  their  aid  not  only  to  the  French, 
but  also  to  the  Algonkins,  their  enemies.  As  soon  as  this  alliance  with  the  French 
was  understood,  the  Five  Nations,  at  first  moderately,  but  afterwards  peremptorily 
and  violently,  ordered  them  to  leave  the  island  of  Hochelaga  and  remove  to  New 
York.  The  Wyandots  having  refused  to  obey  this  mandate,  the  Iroquois  made  war 
upon  them,  and  so  harassed  them  that  they  were  compelled  to  seek  shelter  under  the 
guns  of  Quebec,  in  which  place,  even,  they  were  not  safe,  but  were  finally  expelled 
from  the  valley  of  the  St.  Lawrence.  The  French  themselves  were  fiercely  attacked, 
and  at  one  time  became  seriously  afraid  that  they  would  be  driven  from  the  country. 

The  flight  of  the  Wyandots  from  the  St  Lawrence  Valley,  in  1659,  led  to  a 
great  displacement  of  tribes.  They  passed  up  the  great  Ottawa  River,  and  across 
Lake  Nipissing  to  the  Manitoulin  chain  of  islands  in  Odawa  Lake,  which  hence 
received  the  appellation  of  Huron,  their  French  nom  de  guerre.  But,  the  New 
York  Iroquois  having  pursued  them  thither,  they  fled  to  the  rocky  island  of  Tiedon- 
deroga,  called  Michilimackinac  by  the  Algonkins,  with  whom  they  were  in  close 
alliance,  as  they  had  originally  been  in  Lower  Canada.  Remarkable  evidences  of 
their  residence  in  the  interior  of  this  island,  and  also  of  their  agricultural  habits, 


FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND  AND    THE  OHIO    VALLEY.  171 

may  still  be  traced  in  the  large  spaces  which  were  cultivated,  and  which  are  yet  very 
conspicuous.  Of  these,  the  area  called  by  the  French  Le  Grand  Jardin,  and  the 
ground  about  Sugar-Loaf  and  Arched  Rocks,  will  amply  repay  a  visit  from  the 
curious.  Pursued  hither  by  the  Iroquois,  they  took  shelter  on  Lake  Superior. 
Being  followed  to  that  retreat,  the  Iroquois  were  defeated  by  the  Algics  at  Point 
Iroquois,  in  the  Chippewa  country.  A  sanguinary  battle,  followed  by  a  massacre, 
was  fought  on  the  cape  at  the  left-hand  entrance  into  that  lake,  which  has  since 
been  called  Point  Iroquois. 

Prior  to  the  flight  of  the  Wyaudota  from  the  St.  Lawrence,  a  nation  of  Algonkin 
lineage  called  by  old  writers  Utawawas  and  Atawawas,  and  by  modern  ones  Odawas 
and  Oltawas,  resided  on  the  chain  of  islands  in  Lake  Huron  called  Manitoulins,  or 
Islands  of  the  Great  Spirit.  Portions  of  this  nation  participated  in  the, early  wars 
in  Lower  Canada,  and  were  taught  the  truths  of  the  Christian  religion  by  the  mis 
sionaries.  The  parent  tribe  had  for  a  long  period  dwelt  on  the  islands  of  the  Great 
Spirit,  and  the  lake  itself  was  in  consequence  called  Odawa  Lake.  At  the  same 
period  another  leading  tribe,  of  diverse  lineage,  called  the  Assegun  or  Bone  Indians, 
resided  on  the  upper  parts  of  the  lake.  Their  council-lire  and  tribal  seat  were 
established  on  the  island  of  Michilimackiaac.  They  occupied  Point  St.  Ignace,  and 
also  the  northern  shores  of  the  lake  as  low  down  as  the  influx  of  the  St.  Mary's 
River,  and  likewise  extended  their  possessions  westward  and  northward  along  the 
shores  and  islands  of  Lake  Michigan. 

To  their  position  on  the  Manitoulins  the  Ottawas  refer  as  the  oldest  traditional 
point  in  their  history.  Personal  bravery,  united  with  the  power  of  performing 
miraculous  or  extraordinary  feats  through  the  influence  of  necromancy,  was  their 
great  object  of  attainment,  and  formed  a  theme  for  boasting  among  their  heroes. 
The  origin  of  the  tribe  they  attribute  to  a  renowned  personage  whom  they  culled 
Sagima.  Sagima  had  been  celebrated  during  his  prime  for  deeds  of  prowess  and 
wisdom,  and  for  his  great  magic  powers.  But  he  was  now  tottering  under  the  weight 
of  accumulated  years ;  his  brethren  had  classed  him  as  an  Akiwazi,  or  one  long 
above  ground,  and  he  was  soon  destined  to  take  his  long-anticipated  journey  to  the 
land  of  the  departed,  or  Indian  paradise.  Sagima  resided  with  his  wife,  and  had 
'four  sons, — namely,  Wau-be-nace,  Wauba,  Gitchie  Wedau,  and  the  youngest,  named 
after  himself,  Sagima.  It  is  of  the  feats  of  the  latter,  who  was  the  favorite  son,  that 
tradition  speaks,  for  he  was  not  only  the  pride  of  his  parents,  but  was  also  endowed 
with  all  the  intrepidity,  wisdom,  and  magical  power  of  his  father.  In  his  youth  he 
was  noted  for  his  eccentricities  and  foolhardy  exploits ;  when  he  reached  the  period 
of  manhood  he  evinced  great  powers  of  endurance,  frequently  fasting  ten  days,  and, 
after  tasting  a  little  food,  renewing  his  fast;  and  when  his  future  guardian  spirit 
was  revealed  to  him  it  was  the  Great  Serpent,  or  Gitchie  Kinabik,  who  lives  under 
the  ground  and  water. 

At  this  time  the  Asseguns  began  to  trespass  on  the  territory  of  the  Manitoulins, 
and  killed  some  of  their  people.  A  war  with  this  tribe  was  the  result  Accom 
panying  the  warriors,  at  first  as  a  young  volunteer,  and  concealing  the  great  powers 


172  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  TUB  UNITED  STATES. 

he  felt  conscious  of  possessing,  Sagima  performed  feats  which  drew  all  eyes  upon 
him.  He  soon  became  an  efficient  warrior,  and  in  the  end  the  deliverer  of  his 
country.  In  this  contest  the  Manitoulins  were  aided  by  the  Ojibwas,  or  Chippewos. 
The  first  great  battle  with  the  Bone  Indians  was  fought  on  the  peninsula  called  by 
the  French  Detour.  Sagima  then  pursued  his  enemies  westward  to  their  intrench- 
ments  on  the  northern  shore,  near  some  mounds  and  bivouacs  the  remains  of  which 
are  still  to  be  seen  northward  of  St.  Ignace.  From  this  position  he  dislodged  them, 
and  took  possession  of  the  territory  up  to  Point  St.  Ignace,  where  the  war  terminated, 
and  the  Asseguns,  crossing  the  strait  to  the  headland  culled  Piqutiuong,  the  locality 
where  old  Fort  Michilimackinac  was  subsequently  built  by  the  French,  there  formed 
a  village.  Having  conquered  the  country  of  the  Bone  Indiuns,  the  Ottawa*  grad 
ually  withdrew  from  the  Manitoulins  and  located  their  tribal  seat  at  St.  Ignace. 
The  following  spring  the  Asseguns  crossed  over  and  killed  an  Ottawa  woman  who 
was  planting  corn.  Sagima  raised  a  war-party  and  crossed  the  strait  to  the  Assegun 
village,  which  was  found  to  contain  only  old  men,  women,  and  children,  the  warriors 
having  gone  up  the  Cheboygan,  a  river  ten  miles  to  the  eastward. .  Sagima  followed 
their  trail,  discovered  their  canoes  hidden  in  the  overhanging  bushes,  and  waylaid 
them  in  a  shallow,  sandy  bay.  The  returning  Asseguns  were  attacked  at  a  disad 
vantage,  and  a  dreadful  massacre  followed. 

After  this  event  the  Asseguns  fled  to  the  eastern  shores  of  Lake  Michigan,  but 
they  were  finally  pursued  south  to  the  banks  of  the  Washtcnaw,  called  by  the  French 
Grand  River.  This  formed  the  limit  of  the  conquests  of  the  Ottawas,  and  thence 
they  returned  to  their  tribal  seat  at  St.  Ignace.  The  Cluppewas,  who  had  been  their 
confederates  in  this  war,  settled  on  Grand  Traverse  Bay,  and  at  some  other  locations 
to  the  westward,  where  relics  of  the  two  tribes  still  reside  in  villages. 

During  the  prosecution  of  this  war  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Michigan  the  Ottawas 
and  Chippewas  became  involved  in  a  quarrel  with  a  tribe  called  by  early  writers 
Mascoutins,  a  terra  apparently  derived  from  the  phrase  Mush-co-dains-ug,  or  Little 
Prairie  Indians.  These  Indians  appear  to  have  allied  themselves  with  the  Bone 
Indians.  Chusco,  an  aged  Ottawa,  conversant  with  their  traditions,  attributes  to 
them  the  old  cleared  fields  and  the  mounds  on  the  Michigan  coast,  particularly  those 
on  Grand  River.  From  this  period  the  Asseguns  and  Mascoutins  were  confederates. 
The  Ottawas  and  Chippewas,  as  soon  as  practicable,  pursued  them  beyond  Washtenaw 
River  to  Chicago,  whence  they  fled  towards  the  south  and  west ;  and  from  this  point 
no  further  trace  of  them  can  be  found  in  the  Indian  traditions. 

In  an  official  report  of  the  Indian  tribes  made  to  the  government  of  Canada  in 
1736,  the  Mascoutins  are  designated  as  occupying  the  locality  south  of  Green  Bay, 
and  are  rated  at  eighty  warriors,  which  would  indicate  a  population  of  four  hundred 
souls.  Bouquet  and  Hutchins,  in  their  tables,  formed  in  1764,  report  them  as 
occupying  the  same  locality,  and  state  their  numbers  at  five  hundred.  Modern 
estimates  make  no  mention  of  the  tribe.  In  traits  and  habits  the  Mascoutins  closely 
resembled  the  Kickapoos,  and  they  possibly  have  been  absorbed  in  that  very  nomadic, 
prairie-loving  tribe. 


FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND  AND    TIIE  OHIO    VALLEY.  173 

Regarding  the  Asscguns,  referred  to  in  their  traditions  as  the  predecessors  of  the 
Algonkins  on  the  upper  waters  of  Lake  Huron,  it  would  be  hazardous  to  offer  any 
conjecture  except  one  founded  on  philology,  their  name  appearing  to  assimilate  with 
the  French  term  Osages,  and  they  were  very  probably  of  the  Dakota  or  Iroquois 
stock. 

To  the  events  preceding  the  Assegun  wars  we  can  add  no  chronology.  It  seems 
certain  that  they  occurred  prior  to  the  flight  of  the  Wyandots  to  the  lakes,  in  1649 ; 
for  when,  in  this  year,  the  latter  reached  the  Manitoulin  group,  they  found  it  vacated 
by  the  Ottawas,  and  located  their  residence  on  it ;  hence,  as  before  mentioned,  the 
lake  received  the  name  of  Huron.  Having  been  allies  of  the  Ottawas  and  other 
Algonkins  in  the  St.  Lawrence  Valley,  they  were  welcomed  as  friends.  Their  resi 
dence  on  the  island  of  Michilimackinac  under  Adario,  in  1688,  is  mentioned  by  early 
writers,  and,  although  they  were  obliged  for  a  time  to  take  shelter  among  the  Cliip- 
pewas  of  Lake  Superior,  the  growth  of  the  French  colony -of  Detroit  enabled  the 
latter  to  invite  them  to  locate  themselves  in  that  vicinity,  where  for  so  long  a  period 
they  occupied  a  conspicuous  place  as  the  umpire  tribe. 

By  this  transfer  of  the  Wyandots  to  the  lakes  the  Algonkin  tribes  were  in  reality 
strengthened,  for  they  came  thither  as  friends.  By  the  prior  expulsion  of  the 
Asseguns  and  Mascoutins,  the  wide  lake-basins  had  been  cleared  of  all  tribes  who 
•were  adverse  to  their  rule,  and  they  had  secured  the  free  use  of  their  lakes  as  well  as 
of  their  hunting-grounds.  They  now  began  fearlessly  to  cross  the  broad  waters  in 
their  canoes,  and  soon  felt  themselves  established  in  the  magnificent  geographical 
empire  of  the  great  lakes.  From  the  northern  limits  of  Lake  Huron,  through  the 
Straits  of  St.  Mary  to  Lake  Superior,  and  from  Michilimackinac,  around  the  far- 
spreading  shores  of  Lakes  Huron  and  Michigan,  thence  eastwardly  to  Detroit,  arid 
southwardly  to  the  Ohio,  there  were  no  languages  spoken  but  those  which  were 
derived,  more  or  less  recently,  from  the  Algonkin.  This  generic  language  was  of 
mild  and  easy  utterance,  and  possessed  a  full  vocabulary,  containing  but  few  sounds 
not  readily  enunciated  by  either  the  French  or  the  English.  The  members  of  these 
tribes  were  people  of  good  stature  and  pleasing  manners,  who  readily  adopted 
£uro]>can  modes  of  conducting  their  traffic  and  of  transacting  business.  They  bor 
rowed  from  the  French  the  complimentary  term  bonjour  on  meeting,  having  in  their 
own  language  no  equivalent  for  that  of  good-day.  If  we  examine  the  Algonkin 
people  which  extended  south  from  the  site  of  Chicago  to  Kaskaskia  and  the  mouth 
of  the  Ohio,  and  north  to  the  Crees,  near  the  Lake  of  the  Woods,  we  shall  find  a 
singular  agreement  of  character.  There  was  no  tribe  in  all  the  broad  expanse  of 
country  named  which  did  not  recognize  the  French  standard  as  the  most  desirable 
one  in  matters  of  civilization  and  religion. 

The  French  now  attempted,  by  taking  formal  possession  of  the  Ohio  Valley,  to 
unite  the  extreme  boundaries  of  New  France  and  thus  prevent  the  extension  of  the 
English  colonies. 

The  expulsion  of  the  Asseguns,  or  Bone  Indians,  and  of  the  Mascoutins,  from 
the  lake  region,  in  all  probability  occurred  before  the  close  of  the  sixteenth  century, 


174  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

or  prior,  at  least,  to  the  first  landing  of  Europeans.  No  notice  of  it  can  be  found  in 
the  works  of  the  earliest  writers ;  the  Wasashas,1  a  bold,  turbulent  tribe,  who  may 
be  thought  to  correspond  in  character  with  that  people,  having  been  at  a  primeval 
period  located  in  the  North,  but  after  their  flight  to  the  South  always  on  an  affluent 
of  the  Missouri.  Their  traditions  furnish  nothing  but  an  allegory  representing,  that 
their  origin  was  derived  from  a  beaver  and  a  shell.  If  these  are  symbols,  they  denote 
that  they  lived  in  a  region  abounding  in  trees  (the  bark  of  which  was  their  food) 
and  fish,  and  that  their  state  of  life  was  fortuitous  from  natural  and  not  from  his 
torical  causes. 

It  is  uncertain  at  how  early  a  period  the  French  visited  Lake  Huron  and  the 
upper  lakes,  but  their  first  journey  thither  probably  occurred  between  the  year  1608 
and  Champlain's  surrender  of  Quebec  to  Kirk,  in  1629.  Whatever  the  period  was, 
the  Algonkins  seem  to  have  then  exercised  dominion  in  the  country.  The  Mas- 
cout ins,  who  by  the  name  appear  to  have  been  of  Algonkin  lineage,  were  then  located 
in  that  territory.  The  Illinese  occupied  the  valley  of  the  Illinois,  and  also  the  left 
banks  of  the  Mississippi  from  its  outlet  to  the  influx  of  the  Ohio.  The  Miamis 
were  seated  in  the  St.  Joseph's  and  Grand  River  valleys  of  Michigan,  and  the  various 
bands  called  Michigamies  on  the  shores  of  Lake  Michigan.  The  Menomonies  occu 
pied  the  northern  shores  of  Green  Bay,  and  even  as  early  as  1636  the  Mascoutins 
had  been  driven  to  the  country  lying  south  of  the  banks  of  Fox  River.  The  only 
acknowledged  trans-Mississippian  Indian  tribe  residing  on  Green  Bay  was  that  of 
the  Winnebagoes,  which,  although  of  Dakota  origin,  had  an  Algonkin  name  and 
lived  in  amity  with  the  Algonkins. 

That  the  French  succeeded  in  arraying  the  numerous  and  scattered  tribes  of  the 
Algonkins  against  the  English  colonies,  is  well  known  to  every  reader  of  Americo- 
Indian  history.  Intercourse  and  habits  made  them  one  in  feeling  and  policy. 
Although  it  has  been  suggested  that  the  Indian  tribes  appeared  to  feel  a  sense  of 
their  ability  to  crush  the  primitive  English  colonies,  yet  they  lacked  the  power  of 
combination  to  make  any  general  movement  for  that  purpose.  At  every  phase  of 
their  history  they  felt  the  necessity  of  having  a  European  basis  of  power  upon  which 
to  lean.  In  other  words,  they  sought  to  be  allies,  and  not  principals,  in  the  great 
contests  with  the  colonies,  and  were  in  reality  the  flankers,  and  rarely  or  never  the 
main  body  of  fighting-men.  From  this  preference  for  the  French  the  Algonkin 
family  of  the  Lenni  Lenape  may  be  excepted,  for  they  were  friends  of  the  English 
prior  to  1742.  In  a  public  council  held  at  Lancaster  during  this  year  they  were 
ordered  by  the  Iroquois,  in  a  very  harsh  manner,  to  remove  from  the  lands  they 
occupied,  because  they  had  sold  them  to  Penn,  or  to  other  persons,  without  having 
received  authority.  They  were  directed  to  take  up  their  residence  in  the  West,  and 
from  this  date  the  Delawares  were  regarded  as  being  under  French  influence.  Such 
suspicions  gathered  strength  from  year  to  year,  and  this  influence  followed  them 

1  It  may  be  that  Osages  is  a  term  derivative  from  Wasashas :  if  so,  little  stress  can  be  bud  on  the  supposed 
recognition. 


FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND  AND   THE  OHIO    VALLEY.  175 

westward,  until  they  became  residents  of  the  Muskingum  Valley,  where  the  Christian 
Delawares  were  at  length  massacred. 

It  was  the  early-developed  policy  of  the  French  to  employ  against  the  frontier 
settlements  the  Indian  forces  at  their  command,  a  power  eminently  calculated  to 
annoy  and  harass,  and  without  which  it  does  not  seem  probable  that  the  French  could 
have  so  long  maintained  their  ground  against  the  British  colonies.  Indian  warfare 
is  conducted  by  a  species  of  guerilla  force,  which  in  efficacy  exceeds  all  other  kinds 
of  irregular  warfare,  not  only  on  account  of  its  sanguinary  character,  but  also  because 
of  the  suddenness  of  its  attacks,  its  entire  freedom  from  the  annoyances  of  baggage, 
and  the  alacrity  with  which  the  warriors  charge  and  disperse.  There  is  no  regular 
military  arm  which  can  at  all  cope  with,  or  successfully  check,  these  guerilla  parties, 
as  it  is  their  policy  never  to  risk  an  open  battle;  consequently,  when  the  clumsy 
infantry  and  dragoon  soldier  is  sent  into  the  woods  to  cope  with  such  a  supple  and 
nearly  invisible  enemy,  he  appears  to  be  little  more  than  a  target  for  a  ball  or  an 
arrow. 

A  review  of  the  colonial  policy  of  the  French,  from  the  days  of  Champlain  to 
those  of  Montcalm,  develops  the  fact  that  the  Indian  power  was  always  one  of  their 
most  effective  means  of  offence.  The  great  conflicts  on  land  and  ocean  did  not  pro 
duce  great  results ;  but  during  all  this  period,  extending  over  one  hundred  and  fifty 
years,  it  was  the  Indian  war-parties  and  marauding  expeditions,  which  infested  the 
frontiers  from  Virginia  to  New  England,  that  committed  deeds  of  the  most  atrocious 
violence.  Men,  women,  and  children  sent  unheralded  into  eternity  at  midnight  by 
the  war-club  and  the  scalping-knife,  blazing  tenements,  cruel  and  prolonged  cap 
tivities,  death  at  the  stake,  and  murder  in  its  most  horrid  forms,  constituted  the 
main  incidents  of  this  epoch. 

An  Indian  considers  one  hundred  miles  but  a  short  distance,  and  one  thousand 
miles  as  not  a  long  one  to  march,  when  the  purpose  ho  has  in  view  is  to  glut  his 
vengeance  or  gratify  himself.  He  is  not  a  man  who  pines  for  the  enjoyments  of 
home ;  there  is  not  much  to  attach  him  to  it ;  to  camp  in  the  woods  is  his  delight, 
and  the  wilderness  is  his  dwelling.  Time  passes  lightly  with  him,  and  anything 
which  cheats  him  of  the  very  idea  of  its  passage  is  pleasant.  He  is  always  at  leisure, 
and  death  itself  receives  a  rather  friendly  welcome.  To  journey  to  Fort  Du  Quesne, 
Erie,  Oswego,  Niagara,  or  Quebec  for  the  trifling  present  of  a  gun,  a  blanket,  a 
kettle,  a  pound  of  powder,  a  gorget,  or  a  flag,  was  in  point  of  enterprise  considered  as 
nothing  for  an  Indian  chief.  To  him,  to  whom  time  was  nothing  and  wandering  a 
pleasure,  the  toil  was  ten  times  overpaid  by  the  reward.  The  Indian  naturally  esteems 
gifts,  and  habitually  loves  the  giver.  The  Frenchman  was  to  the  Indian  the  beau 
ideal  of  all  that  was  admirable  in  a  foreign  race,  combining  generosity  with  amiable 
friendliness  and  kindness  of  demeanor. 

The  French  most  surely  extended  their  influence  by  multiplying  forts  on  the 
frontiers.  They  had  from  an  early  period  occupied  positions  on  every  important 
Western  river  or  lake,  and  by  taking  formal  possession  of  the  Ohio  Valley,  in  1753, 
they  consummated  a  long-cherished  scheme,  and  environed  the  Western  colonies  with  a 


176  .         THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STA  TES. 

cincture  as  of  scorpions.  Western  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania  groaned  under  new  in 
flictions  of  savage  vengeance ;  and  from  this  time  the  Indian  forays  on  the  Western 
frontiers  became  incessant,  being  unexampled  in  our  history  for  their  frequency,  and 
for  the  barbarous  inhumanity  which  characterized  them, — murders,  ambuscades,  and 
tortures  becoming  the  terror  of  the  settlers.  Not  the  least  important  feature  in. the 
policy  which  directed  these  Indian  wars  was  the  countenance  they  received  from  the 
French  officials  at  Vincennes,  Kaskaskia,  Fort  Chartres,  Detroit,  Miami,  Sandusky, 
and  other  minor  posts.  It  was  these  depredations,  and  the  policy  which  directed 
them,  that  first  brought  Washington  into  the  field. 

The  Gallic  and  Anglo-Saxon  powers  were  now  fairly  pitted  against  each  other, 
and  it  was  evident  that  this  new  aspect  of  French  aggression  must  soon  lead  to  a 
general  conflict  France  or  England  must  rule  America.  The  British  ministry  had 
in  some  measure  prepared  for  this  struggle.  The  local  commerce  had  necessitated 
the  erection  of  Fort  Loudon,  in  the  Valley  of  Virginia.  Fort  Cumberland  had  been 
previously  built  on  Wills  Creek,  Fort  Stanwix  at  the  head  of  the  Mohawk,  and  Fort 
Anne  on  the  sources  of  the  Hudson.  Fort  Edward,  also  on  the  Hudson,  and  Fort 
William  Henry,  on  Lake  George,  were  soon  afterwards  constructed.  These  formed 
the  chief  defences  in  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and  after  the  close  of 
Queen  Anne's  war  the  colonists  were  supported  by  occasional  detacbmeuts  of  veteran 
troops  who  had  served  under  the  Duke  of  Marlborough  and  other  distinguished 
officers.  These  forts  served  as  defences  to  the  frontiers,  enabling  the  colonies  to  pre 
serve  their  existence,  but  they  were  not  sufficiently  powerful  to  roll  back  the  tide  of 
aggression. 

At  this  period,  as  already  stated,  France  had  seized  and  guarded  by  a  series  of 
skilfully-distributed  posts  the  lakes  and  streams — those  thoroughfares  of  the  wilder 
ness — between  her  settlements  in  the  valley  of  the  St.  Lawrence  and  the  mouth  of 
the  Mississippi.  A  fort  at  Niagara  commanded  the  interior  country,  at  Detroit  the 
passage  from  Lake  Erie  to  the  north  was  guarded,  and  at  St  Mary's  hostile  access  to 
Lake  Superior  was  barred.  Michiliraackiuac  secured  the  mouth  of  Lake  Michigan ; 
posts  at  Green  Bay  and  St.  Joseph  protected  the  two  routes  to  the  Mississippi  by  the 
rivers  Wisconsin  and  Illinois,  while  those  on  the  Wabash  and  the  Maumee  gave 
France  control  of  the  trade  from  Lake  Erie  to  the  Ohio.  French  settlements  were 
found  at  Kaskaskia  and  Cahokia,  in  Illinois,  and  a  few  small  stockades  were  seen  on 
the  Mississippi. 

To  counteract  this  policy  the  English  found  it  necessary  to  call  in  the  aid  of  the 
Iroquois  cantons.  The  Indian  is  more  gratified  with  a  present  of  ten  dollars'  worth 
of  merchandise  than  if  he  were  to  receive  twenty  times  the  value  hi  money  as  a 
permanent  annuity.  Early  partakers  of  the  benefits  resulting  from  Anglo-Saxon 
proximity  of  settlement  and  commerce,  the  Iroquois  became  firm  friends  to  all  who 
belonged  to  that  race.  The  warlike  Mohawks  were  the  most  prominent  tribe  in 
the  confederacy  at  the  time  of  the  discovery  of  the  Hudson.  They  found  a  very 
good  market  for  their  furs,  which  rendered  them  affluent  in  every  comfort  of  Indian 
life,  and  they  adhered  to  their  early  relations  with  unchanging  steadiness.  After 


FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND  AND    THE  OHIO    VALLEY.  177 

being  furnished  with  guns,  the  Mohawks  revisited  Lake  Champlain,  where  they 
encountered  the  renewed  energies  of  Canada,  and  in  a  short  time  induced  all  the 
cantons  to  join  them.  Another  great  advantage  accrued  to  them  at  this  period  in 
the  employment  of  fire-arms  against  their  enemies  at  the  South  and  West.  The 
introduction  of  gunpowder  into  America  revolutionized  the  entire  Indian  mode  of 
life.  Their  expeditions  not  only  became  more  lengthy,  but  were  also  characterized 
by  greater  frequency,  and  in  a  short  time  no  tribe  could  withstand  them.  Ambition 
stimulated  every  canton,  and  before  the  surrender  of  the  province  to  the  English,  in 
1664,  the  council-fire  at  Onondaga  burned  still  more  brightly  and  fiercely.  Unaided 
by  this  influence,  New  York,  as  well  as  the  Northern  and  Central  British  colonies, 
could  not  have  protected  so  wide  a  frontier  without  any  extraneous  aid.  They 
frustrated  the  plan  for  establishing  a  mission  at  the  old  French  fields,  in  Madison 
County,  as  also  at  Onondaga,  in  Western  New  York.  They  likewise  defeated  the 
armies  of  Frontenac  and  of  Denonville. 

An  agency  was  also  established  in  the  Iroquois  country,  which,  from  little 
beginnings,  at  length  systematically  controlled  this  power  for  the  protection  and 
furtherance  of  the  interests  of  the  English  colonies.  This  was  the  one  which 
became  so  celebrated  under  the  management  of  Sir  William  Johnson.  Johnson 
emigrated  to  America  in  1734,  and,  having  undertaken  the  management  of  an  estate 
in  the  Mohawk  Valley  for  Sir  Peter  Warren,  embarked  in  the  fur-trade  and  learned 
the  Indian  language.  He  frequently  accompanied  the  Iroquois  delegates  who  went 
to  Albany  to  transact  business  with  the  government,  and  therein  evinced  so  much 
tact,  and  so  intimate  a  knowledge  of  the  Indian  dialects,  that  in  a  few  years  the 
guperintendency  of  this  department  of  government  in  the  British  colonies  was 
committed  to  his  care.  The  Iroquois  had  been  constantly  gaining  in  power  during 
the  previous  century,  and  the  authority  which  they  now  exercised  over  the  tribes  in 
the  North,  South,  and  West  enabled  Johnson,  through  their  means,  to  exert  a 
controlling  influence.  He  combined  within  himself  the  faculties  of  close  observa 
tion,  great  prudence,  judgment,  decision,  energy,  and  courage.  By  his  judicious 
management  of  affairs,  and  of  a  large  private  estate,  he  at  once  acquired  a  just 
appreciation  of  Indian  character,  and  great  popularity  with  the  Iroquois.  His 
Indian  policy  imitated  and  even  surpassed  in  efficiency  that  of  the  French.  He 
paid  the  utmost  deference  to  their  ancient  ceremonial,  not  to  say  Oriental,  mode 
of  transacting  public  business.  He  received  their  delegates  and  foreign  ambassa 
dors  with  great  ceremony,  listened  to  them  patiently,  answered  them  carefully,  made 
them  liberal  and  judicious  presents,  and  ordered  every  attention  to  be  paid  to  their 
personal  wants.  No  Indian  who  came  to  him  ever  went  away  hungry  or  in  want 
from  his  agency,  and  no  one  ever  complained  that  he  had  not  received  an  audi 
ence.  The  Indian  is  always  greatly  influenced  by  the  respect  with  which  he  is 
received ;  no  European  can  be  more  so.  He  has  a  high  opinion  of  himself,  of  his 
position,  and  of  his  destiny ;  he  does  not  know  that  he  is  a  savage ;  he  does  not  feel 
the  want  of  our  knowledge,  our  letters,  our  religion  ;  he  is  a  patient,  courteous,  dig 
nified  listener;  he  watches  the  features  and  expression  of  his  interlocutor  with  great 

H— 23 


178  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

attention,  and  is  a  good  judge  of  general  character ;  he  is  prone  to  approbativeness, 
values  approval,  appreciates  kindness,  and  is  altogether  reliable  as  a  personal  friend. 

Such  were  the  materials  of  the  power  which  Johnson  undertook  to  control.  He 
regarded  the  proud,  noble,  but  untutored  Mohawk,  Oneida,  Onondaga,  Cayuga,  and 
Seneca  sachems,  with  their  principle  of  cantonal  representation  and  confederate 
unity,  as  in  some  measure  a  reproduction  of  the  Amphictyonic  Council.  He  sent 
formal  messages  to  them  requesting  their  attendance  whenever  occasion  required  it. 
This  careful  attention  greatly  pleased  them.  Meeting  together  in  council,  they 
transmitted  the  message  to  the  most  distant  places.  Under  the  honored  title  of 
Mingoes,  portions  of  the  Iroquois  stock  resided  in  the  Ohio  Valley,  and  served  as 
diplomatic  agents  to  communicate  intelligence.  The  most  distant  valleys  of  the 
West,  and  the  remotest  lakes  of  the  North,  were  thus  made  accessible ;  and  the 
affairs  of  the  Illinois,  and  of  the  tribes  of  Michilimackinac,  Detroit,  Niagara,  and 
Oswego,  were  as  well  understood  at  his  nominal  seat  on  Tribes  Hill,  in  the  Mohawk 
Valley,  as  were  those  of  Genesee,  Albany,  and  the  Cahoatatea.  The  high  rank 
which  Johnson  held  in  the  New  York  militia  caused  him  to  be  employed  on  some 
of  the  most  important  services,  and  he  achieved  several  momentous  victories  in  the 
war  with  the  French.  No  one  can  peruse  the  history  of  New  York,  Pennsylvania, 
Maryland,  or  Virginia,  or  even  of  the  States  farther  South,  from  the  beginning 
of  the  eighteenth  century  to  the  era  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  without  observing 
how  intimately  the  Indian  policy  of  these  colonies  was  connected  with  the  Iroquois 
supremacy,  and  how  completely  Sir  William  controlled  it  through  a  well-established 
system  of  subordinates.  Governors  of  colonies  thought  it  no  derogation  from  their 
dignity  to  meet  the  delegated  Iroquois  sachems  in  general  council,  and  the  Iroquois 
sanction  was  deemed  essential  to  all  purchases  of  land  and  questions  of  boundary, 
even  to  the  utmost  limits  of  Virginia  and  Kentucky. 

The  struggle  which  was  at  this  period  impending  on  the  Western  frontiers  was 
not  only  for  the  possession  of  supremacy  on  the  Ohio,  but  in  fact,  as  became  apparent 
in  a  few  years,  for  the  control  of  the  entire  Mississippi  Valley.  It  was  a  contest 
which  would  decide  whether  France  or  England  should  govern  in  North  America. 
The  Indians  were  so  far  a  party  to  the  contest  that  it  was  necessary  for  each  nation 
to  pay  its  court  to  them,  and  there  was  no  surer  method  of  acquiring  their  good  will 
than  by  respecting  their  ancient  mode  of  holding  councils  and  paying  due  reverence 
to  their  ceremonial  rites  and  customs.  To  smoke  a  national  pipe,  to  deliver  a  belt 
of  wampum  beads,  to  present  a  chief  with  a  medal  or  a  flag,  were  in  their  eyes  acts 
of  the  most  momentous  importance.  To  do  nothing  in  a  hurry,  to  deliberate  slowly, 
to  measure,  as  it  were,  the  importance  of  events  by  the  time  devoted  to  the  perform 
ance  of  their  ceremonies,  were  to  the  Indians  very  pleasing  evidences  of  capacity  for 
negotiation.  When  an  Indian  orator  arose  and  pointed  to  the  zenith,  to  the  nadir, 
to  the  place  of  the  sun  and  moon,  and  to  the  cardinal  points,  he  fancied  himself  to 
be  surrounded  by  a  pantheon  of  supernal  and  spiritual  influences.  He  loved  this 
pomp  of  ceremonies,  and  he  felt  complimented  to  see  a  European  official  respect 
them.  Trifles  lead  to  success. 


FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND  AND    TUB  OHIO    VALLEY.  179 

It  has  been  mentioned  that  the  inroads  of  the  Indians,  which  either  preceded  or 
succeeded  the  occupation  of  the  Ohio  Valley  by  the  French,  had  the  effect  of  bring 
ing  Washington  into  that  field  of  adventurous  action.  He  was  but  sixteen  when  he 
first  began  his  explorations  on  the  Alleghany  chain.  Five  years  of  manly  exercise 
and  experience  in  the  life  of  woodcraft,  surveying,  and  exploration  had  given  him 
a  shrewd  insight  into  Indian  character,  and  prepared  him  for  further  and  more 
important  trusts  in  a  department  of  service  requiring,  above  all  others,  perpetual 
vigilance  and  precaution ;  and  if,  in  the  estimation  of  the  Indians  and  the  pioneers, 
he  surpassed  the  others  engaged  with  him,  it  was  doubtless  owing  to  the  Indians' 
appreciation  of  the  solidity  of  his  character.  Tanacharisson,  who  was  the  head 
sachem  of  the  Mingo-Iroquois  of  the  Ohio  Valley,  was  the  presiding  chief  in  the 
first  council  or  consultation  in  which  Washington  took  part.  In  fact,  Tanacharisson 
was  well  known  among  the  tribes,  .and  performed  at  the  place  of  his  residence  the 
duties  of  a  kind  of  chargc-d 'affaire*,  just  as  the  half-king,  Scarooyadi,  did  on  the 
Juniata,  and  Skilelamo  on  the  Susquehanua.  Favorably  impressed  from  the  first, 
the  Indian  chief  remained  a  firm  friend  of  the  enterprising  Virginian  to  the  day  of 
his  death. 

The  double  interest  created  by  the  fine  soil  and  climate  of  Ohio,  and  by  appre 
hension  of  the  hostility  of  its  native  tribes,  strongly  directed  the  minds  of  Virgin 
ians  to  that  quarter,  and  at  sundry  times  they  despatched  agents  to  visit  the  country 
and  report  its  position,  its  resources,  and  the  feelings  of  the  Indians.  Among  these 
reconnoissances,  those  of  Croghan,  Gist,  and  Trent  constitute  marked  epochs  in  the 
history  of  Indian  policy  and  sentiments.  The  result  of  these  missions,  which 
extended  to  the  Wabash  and  the  Scioto,  denoted  that  French  influence  was  predomi 
nant,  and  that  the  Algonkin  tribes  generally  were  in  close  alliance  with  that  power, 
while  the  Mingocs  expressed  friendly  Opinions  of  the  English.  From  a  remaik 
made  by  a  Delaware  sachem  to  one  of  their  agents,  it  appeared  to  be  a  question,  not 
whether  the  Indians  possessed  or  wished  to  occupy  any  part  of  the  country,  but 
simply  whether  the  French  or  the  English  should  have  possession  of  it.  A  year  or 
two  passed  in  rather  fruitless  efforts  to  obtain  a  better  knowledge  of  Indian  affairs 
in  Ohio,  and  in  endeavors  to  adjust  matters  on  a  firmer  footing. 

In  1749  a  royal  grant  of  six  hundred  thousand  acres,  on  the  Ohio  River,  was 
made  to  a  number  of  English  merchants  and  Virginia  planters,  who,  under  the 
name  of  the  Ohio  Company,  had  associated  for  the  ostensible  purpose  of  trade. 
The  establishment  of  this  company  was  the  first  intimation  to  the  French  of  the 
intention  of  the  English  to  prosecute  their  claims.  They  viewed  it  as  a  step  towards 
wresting  the  Indian  trade  from  them  and  breaking  the  connection  between  New 
France  and  Louisiana,  They  at  once  resolved  on  defensive  measures,  and  seized 
some  English  traders  near  the  present  site  of  Pittsburg,  whom  they  conveyed  to 
Presque  Isle,  now  Erie.  In  retaliation  for  this  outrage,  the  Twightwees,  a  friendly 
tribe,  seized  some  French  traders  and  sent  them  to  Pennsylvania.  Finally,  the 
French,  began  the  erection  of  posts  on  the  south  side  of  Lake  Erie,  sending  troops 
across  the  lakes  with  munitions  of  war,  and  forwarding  bodies  of  armed  men  from 


180  TUB  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

New  Orleans.  One  fort  was  built  at  Presque  Isle,  another  at  Le  Boeuf  (now  Water- 
ford,  Pennsylvania),  and  a  third  at  Venango  (now  Franklin,  Pennsylvania),  at  the 
junction  of  French  Creek  with  the  Allegheny  River. 

The  Ohio  Company  having  complained  of  these  aggressions,  Governor  Din- 
widdie  deemed  it  proper  to  send  an  agent  to  the  French  authorities  at  the  post  of 
Presque  Isle,  on  Lake  Erie,  and  committed  the  trust  to  Washington,  whose  experi 
ence  on  that  frontier,  together  with  his  judgment  and  discretion,  well  qualified  him 
for  the  task.  Accompanied  by  a  French  interpreter,  Washington  left  Williamsburg, 
the  seat  of  government,  on  the  30th  of  October,  1753.  He  rode  on  horseback  across 
the  AUeghanies.  At  Cumberland  Mr.  Gist  joined  him  as  Indian  interpreter,  and 
at  another  point  a  second  interpreter  and  four  experienced  woodsmen  were  added  to 
his  cavalcade.  All  the  rivers  were  so  swollen  that  he  was  compelled  to  swim  the 
horses  across.  He  reached  the  junction  of  the  Monongahela  and  Allegheny  Rivers 
(now  the  site  of  Pittsburg)  without  accident,  and  pointed  out  that  spot  as  a  suitable 
and  desirable  location  for  a  fort.  In  that  vicinity  he  found  a  Delaware  sachem, 
named  Shingiss,  who  gave  him  directions  for  finding  Logstown,  the  residence  of 
Tanacharisson,  the  .half-king.  He  reached  that  place  after  sunset,  but  the  chief 
was  absent.  He  immediately  sent  runners  to  invite  him  to  an  interview,  and  the 
chief  arrived  at  his  lodge  the  next  day.  He  discovered  him  to  be  intelligent, 
patriotic,  and  tenacious  of  his  territoriaT  rights.  Washington  received  him  with 
courtesy,  and  despatched  messengers  to  some  of  the  other  chiefs  to  invite  them  to  a 
council.  They  arrived  the  following  day,  when  he  laid  before  them  the  purport  of 
his  instructions  from  the  Governor  of  Virginia,  and  requested  guides  to  conduct 
him  to  the  French  posts,  and  a  safe-conduct  on  the  way.  A  pause  then  ensued. 
The  council  having  deliberated  formally  on  the  matter,  the  half-king  arose,  assumed 
an  oratorical  attitude,  and  gave  his  assent,  declaring  that  the  English  and  themselves 
were  one  people,  and  that  he  intended  to  return  the  French  belts ;  thus,  in  the  usual 
form  of  Indian  diplomacy,  rejecting  the  French  overtures.  Three  days  were  occu 
pied  in  summoning  the  Indians  from  their  camps  and  securing  their  compliance, 
after  which  Washington  was  furnished  with  the  required  guides  and  aids.  He  was 
accompanied  also  by  the  half-king,  by  Jeskakake,  a  Shawnee,  and  by  another  chief, 
named  the  Belt-Keeper,  or  White  Thunder.  They  reached  the  post  of  Venango,  a 
distance  of  seventy  miles,  in  four  days.  This  was  but  an  outpost  of  the  fortress 
near  Presque  Isle.  After  witnessing  some  of  the  peculiar  manoeuvrings  and 
intrigues  of  both  French  and  Indian  diplomacy,  Washington  proceeded  to  Presque 
Isle,  where  he  was  received  with  ceremonious  politeness  by  the  commandant,  St. 
Pierre.  The  purport  of  these  details  is  merely  to  demonstrate  how  the  Indian 
character  fluctuated  under  the  operation  of  two  diverse  sets  of  counsels.  Tanacha 
risson,  the  Mingo  sachem,  remained  faithful  to  his  professions,  and  informed  Wash 
ington  of  the  result  of  a  secret  council  with  St.  Pierre,  in  which  it  was  decided  that 
a  present  of  goods  should  be  sent  to  secure  the  good  will  of  his  village  at  Logstown. 
The  entire  journey  was  fraught  with  unusual  peril  and  hardship,  being  performed 
amid  the  severity  of  winter ;  and  its  results  furnish  us  with  a  good  view  of  Indian 


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FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND  AND   THE  OHIO    VALLEY.  181 

character,  swayed  as  it  then  was  by  the  alternating  emotions  of  hope  and  fear, 
and  well  illustrate  the  operation  of  motives  of  self-interest  on  the  Indian  mind. 
The  mission  was,  however,  unsuccessful.  Early  in  the  spring  of  1754  the  French 
under  Contrecoeur  took  possession  of  the  point  at  the  junction  of  the  Allegheny  and 
Monongahela  Rivers,  dislodging  a  party  of  men  engaged  in  the  same  work  under 
Captain  Trent  of  the  Virginia  militia,  and  erected  Fort  Du  Quesne.  The  English 
had  been  outgeneralled,  and  a  fixed  point  established  whence  to  control  Indian  action. 
The  spirits  of  the  Indian  allies  of  the  French  had  been  raised  to  the  highest  pitch, 
and  the  power  of  the  English  colonists  defied.  This  first  overt  act  of  hostility  was 
the  beginning  of  the  Seven  Years'  French  and  Indian  War,  which  terminated  with 
the  conquest  of  Canada. 


CHAPTER   IL 

• 

BRADDOCK'S  DEFEAT. 

CIVILIZED  communities  regard  military  success  as,  in  most  cases,  the  result  of 
superior  judgment,  but  with  the  Indians  it  is  the  effect  of  an  impulsive,  irresistible 
movement,  under  the  operation  of  which  judgment  gives  place  to  passion  and  they 
are  incited  to  such  infuriate  action  as  to  produce  confusion  in  the  ranks  of  the  enemy. 
Fort  Du  Quesne  had  no  sooner  been  established  than  it  became  a  centre  for  the 
direction  of  Indian  movements  in  the  West.  From  far  and  near  the  Indians 
resorted  to  it  Feasts,  dances,  and  the  distribution  of  presents  were  the  order  of 
the  day,  and  the  vicinity  resounded  with  shouts  and  songs.  The  frontiers  of  the 
English  colonies  were  speedily  subjected  to  Indian  inroads.  Dinwiddie,  by  his  tardy 
movements,  had  lost  his  vantage-ground,  and  Virginia  enterprise,  though  directed 
by  its  best  men,  failed  to  recover  its  former  position.  The  year  1754  was  character 
ized  by  alarms,  murders,  apprehension,  the  formation  of  plans,  and  their  failure. 
There  was  no  security  on  the  frontiers  from  Carolina  to  Pennsylvania,  nor  in  Western 
New  York.  The  Catawbas  and  Cherokees  had  not  been  employed  to  counteract  the 
movements  of  the  Western  Indians ;  this  measure  was  not  thought  of  in  the  zeal  of 
the  Ohio  Company  to  effect  settlements,  or  in  the  efforts  of  the  local  military  forces 
to  dislodge  the  French. 

The  Virginia  Assembly  voted  ten  thousand  pounds  sterling  towards  supporting 
the  expeditions  to  the  Ohio.  The  Carolinas  voted  twelve  thousand  pounds  sterling. 
Three  hundred  men  were  to  be  raised,  to  be  commanded  by  Colonel  Joshua  Fry, 
with  Washington  as  his  lieutenant.  Arriving  at  Wills  Creek  April  20,  Washington, 
learning  that  Trent's  force  had  been  dislodged,  pushed  forward  with  one  hundred 
and  fifty  men  to  attempt  to  retrieve  this  loss,  confident  that  Fry  with  a  large  force 
would  speedily  follow.  Ascertaining  from  the  half-king  that  a  French  force  was 
about  to  attack  him,  he  threw  up  an  intrenchment  near  the  Great  Meadows,  which 
he  called  Fort  Necessity.  On  the  27th  he  surprised  a  French  detachment  of  fifty 
men,  and  defeated  them,  De  Jumonville,  their  commander,  being  killed.  By  the 
death  of  Colonel  Fry  at  Wills  Creek,  the  chief  command  of  the  expedition  now 
devolved  upon  Washington,  who,  with  only  four  hundred  men,  was  marching  to 
attack  Fort  Du  Quesne,  when,  learning  that  the  French  had  been  reinforced  and 
were  marching  towards  him,  he  retreated  to  Fort  Necessity,  which  he  reached  July 
1,  and  which  he  at  once  proceeded  to  enlarge  and  strengthen.  Two  days  later  the 
French,  seven  hundred  strong,  under  De  Villiers,  attacked  the  fort.  After  a  brief 
defence,  it  was  surrendered  upon  honorable  terms.  At  the  close  of  the  year  1754,  in 
the  whole  valley  of  the  Mississippi  there  floated  no  other  standard  than  that  of  France. 
182 


FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND  AND   TIIE  OHIO    VALLEY.  183 

The  year  1755  afforded  but  a  gloomy  prospect  for  the  cause  of  the  colonies. 
Never  before,  perhaps,  had  they  been  so  boldly  threatened  by  the  combined  power 
of  the  Indians  and  the  French.     The  Alleghanies  were  the  natural  barriers  between 
the  East,  and  the  West.     To  retrieve  their  position  in  the  West,  and  to  open  the  way 
for  future  emigration  beyond  the  Alleghanies,  the  British  cabinet  sent  out  two  regi 
ments  of  veteran  troops,  under  the  command  of  General  Edward  Braddock,  a  proud, 
highly  disciplined  soldier,  who  despised  the  Indians  and  deemed  them  incapable  of 
making  any  impression  on  the  solid  columns  of  a  regular  army.     He  had  learned 
the  art  of  war  on  the  battle-fields  of  Europe,  and  disdained  all  skulking  and  dodg 
ing,  which  form  an  essential  element  of  success  in  Indian  warfare.     He  underrated 
the  colonial  troops  and  frontiersmen,  not  only  because  they  were  not  highly  disci 
plined,  but  also  because  they  had  to  some  extent  adopted  the  hunter  mode  of  warfare. 
His  landing  at  Alexandria  (February  20),  the  glitter  and  parade  of  war  which  per 
vaded  his  movements,  his  councils  with  the  colonial  governors,  and  the  fame  of  the 
expedition  which  was  designed  to  cross  the  Alleghanies,  filled  the  entire  country. 
Braddock  was  clothed  with  the  fullest  powers  by  the  king.     Colonial  governors 
waited  upon  him,  and  expectation  had  reached  the  highest  pitch  of  excitement. 
Among   those  who  were  present  at  Alexandria  was  General  AVilliam  Johnson, 
charged  by  the  New  York  colonial  government  with  the  control  of  Indian  affairs  in 
the  Mohawk  Valley  and  among  the  Iroquois.     Braddock  appointed  him  Superin 
tendent-General  of  Indian  affairs  in  America,  clothed  him  with  ample  powers,  and 
provided  him  with  fund*.    Filling  up  his  regiment*  with  the  best  recruit*,  having  an 
ample  military  chest,  a  well-arranged  quartermaster's  department,  the  most  experi 
enced  guides  and  pioneers,  and  Washington  himself  as  an  aide  in  his  personal  staff, 
Braddock  conquered  every  delay,  and  surmounted  difficulties  of  a  remarkable  and 
novel  character  in  conveying  his  troops  and  cannon  over  the  intricate  passes  of  the 
Alleghany  range,  and  in  reaching  the  dark  and  turbid  waters  of  the  Monongahela. 
But  it  is  wonderful  that,  after  this  long  and  laborious  march,  during  which  a  passage 
for  his  platoons  had  been  cut  through  forests  of  thick  trees,  tangled  with  brush 
wood,  and  the  artillery  had  been  sometimes  lowered  over  steep  precipices  by  sailors 
with  ropes,  he  should  not  have  proposed  to  meet  his  savage  foemen  in  the  manner 
best  calculated  to  defeat  them,  and  that  he  turned  a  deaf  ear  to  all  the  counsels  of . 
experience. 

To  Franklin,  who  told  Braddock  at  Fredericksburg  that  the  Indians  were  dex 
terous  in  planning  and  executing  ambuscades,  he  replied,  "The  savages  may  be 
formidable  to  your  raw  American  militia ;  upon  the  king's  regulars  and  disciplined 
troops  it  is  impossible  they  should  make  any  impression.  After  taking  Fort  1  >u 
Quesne,  I  am  to  proceed  to  Niagara,  and,  having  taken  that,  to  Frontenac.  Du 
Quesne  can  hardly  detain  me  above  three  or  four  days,  and  then  I  see  nothing  that 
can  obstruct  my  march  to  Niagara."  Franklin's  exertions,  backed  by  his  great 
influence  in  Pennsylvania,  supplied  the  army  with  horses  and  carriages,  for  want  of 
which  it  had  halted  at  Fredericksburg,  unable  to  move, — a  feat  that  extorted  praise 
from  Braddock,  and  for  which  Franklin  received  the  unanimous  thanks  of  the 


184  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

* 

Assembly  of  Pennsylvania.  Among  the  wagoners  employed  on  this  occasion  was 
Daniel  Morgan,  the  future  hero  of  the  Cowpens,  who,  by  saving  his  wages  as  a  -day- 
laborer,  had  become  the  owner  of  a  team. 

Up  to  the  fatal  9th  of  July,  the  army,  in  a  slender  line  nearly  four  miles  in 
length,  marched  through  a  narrow  passage,  twelve  feet  wide,  cut  through  a  dense 
forest  into  which  the  eye  could  scarcely  penetrate. 

Braddock's  force  consisted  of  about  two  thousand  men,  one  thousand  of  whom 
were  provincials,  among  them  two  companies  from  New  York  under  Captain  Horatio 
Gates.  The  advanced  division,  led  by  the  general  in  person,  consisted  of  twelve 
hundred  men ;  the  other,  under  Colonel  Dunbar,  remained  in  the  rear.  Braddock 
reached  the  junction  of  the  Youghiogheny  and  Monongahela  Rivers,  within  fifteen 
miles  of  Fort  Du  Quesne,  July  8 ;  at  noon  of  the  9th  they  were  but  seven  miles 
from  the  fort  A  detachment  of  three  hundred  and  fifty  men,  led  by  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Thomas  Gage,  attended  by  a  working  party  of  two  hundred  and  fifty,  was 
advancing  cautiously  with  guides  and  flanking  parties  towards  the  fort,  followed  by 
the  general  with  the  artillery,  baggage,  and  the  main  body  of  the  army,  when  a  very 
heavy  and  rapid  firing  was  heard  at  the  front 

Contrecoeur,  the  French  commander,  informed  of  the  approach  of  Braddock,  and 
doubtful  of  his  ability  to  maintain  his  post,  had  contemplated  its  abandonment,  when 
Captain  De  Beaujeu  proposed  to  head  a  detachment  of  French  and  Indians  and 
meet  the  English  while  on  their  march.  This  plan  was  adopted,  and  on  the  morning 
of  July  9,  with  less  than  nine  hundred  French  and  Indians,  Beaujeu  set  out, 
intending  to  make  the  attack  at  the  second  crossing  of  the  river.  Arriving  too  late 
at  this  point,  they  posted  themselves  in  the  woods  and  ravines  on  the  line  of  march 
towards  the  fort. 

It  was  one  o'clock  when,  under  the  rays  of  a  July  sun,  the  British  reached  the 
north  side  of  the  Monongahela.  A  level  plain  extended  nearly  half  a  mile  north 
ward  to  a  rise,  beyond  which  were  higher  elevations,  thickly  wooded,  and  furrowed 
by  narrow  ravines.  Just  as  Gage  with  the  advance  was  ascending  this  slope,  a  heavy 
volley  from  the  unseen  foe  was  poured  into  his  ranks  from  the  dark  woods  in  his 
front  Gage's  failure  promptly  to  support  his  flanking  parties  lost  the  day.  The 
British  fired  at  random,  while  the  concealed  enemy,  from  behind  trees  and  rocks  and 
bushes,  kept  up  his  rapid  and  destructive  volleys.  Beaujeu,  the  French  leader,  was 
killed  at  the  first  return  fire,  and  M.  Dumas  took  his  place.  Braddock  made  all 
possible  haste  to  relieve  his  advanced  guard,  but  the  panic-stricken  soldiers  fell  back 
in  confusion  upon  the  artillery,  and  communicated  their  fright  to  the  whole  army. 
The  general  tried  in  vain  to  rally  his  troops.  He  and  his  officers  were  in  the 
thickest  of  the  fight,  and  exhibited  indomitable  courage.  Washington  ventured  to 
suggest  the  propriety  of  adopting  the  Indian  mode  of  warfare,  each  firing  for  him 
self  without  orders,  but  Braddock  would  not  listen  to  him.  For  three  hours  he  tried 
to  form  his  men  into  regular  columns  and  platoons,  while  his  concealed  enemy  with 
sure  aim  was  slaying  his  brave  soldiers  by  scores.  At  length  he  received  a  wound 
which  disabled  him  and  terminated  his  life  three  days  afterwards.  Every  mounted 


FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND  AND    THE  OHIO    VALLEY.  185 

officer  except  Washington  was  slain  before  Braddock  fell,  and  the  whole  duty  of 
distributing  orders  devolved  upon  him,  while  from  recent  illness  he  was  scarcely  fit 
to  be  in  the  saddle.  Two  horses  were  shot  under  him,  and  four  bullets  perforated 
his  clothing.  His  Virginians,  adopting,  contrary  to  orders,  the  Indian  mode  of 
fighting,  did  more  execution  than  all  the  others,  and  saved  the  remnant  of  the  army. 
"  That  proud  army  which  had  that  morning  crossed  the  Monongahela  in  such  gallant 
array,  with  drums  beating  and  colors  flying,  fled  like  sheep  before  wolves,  abandoning 
their  cannon,  their  arms  and  ammunition,  and  even  their  wounded,  to  their  savage 
foes."  Of  three  companies,  scarcely  thirty  men  were  left  alive.  Secretary  Shirley 
and  Sir  Peter  Halkct  were  killed.  Among  the  wounded  were  Colonels  Burton,  St. 
Clair,  and  Orne,  Lieutenant-Colonel  Gage,  Major  Sparks,  and  Brigade-Major  Halket. 
Five  captains  were  killed,  and  five  wounded.  Out  of  eighty-six  officers,  sixty-three 
were  killed  or  wounded.  The  loss  of  privates  was  seven  hundred  and  fourteen,  one- 
half  of  whom  were  killed.  Of  the  enemy,  only  three  officers  and  thirty  men  were 
killed,  and  about  the  same  number  wounded. 

This  defeat  was  effected  by  the  Western  and  Northern  Indians,  who  were  chiefly 
of  Algonkin  lineage.  The  French  Indians  from  the  lakes  were  present  in  great 
force,  and  it  has  been  surmised  that  Pontiac  himself  was  their  leader.  The  Iroquois 
were  not  on  the  field  in  their  tribal  character,  although  some  Mingoes  and  Senecas 
were  present.  Johnson  had  urged  the  necessity  of  sending  the  warriors  with  Brad- 
dock,  but  they  declined.  The  utmost  result  of  his  efforts  was  that  they  promised 
not  to  oppose  him. 

It  is  an  error  to  suppose  that  Braddock  was  the  only  one  who  placed  no  faith  in 
the  efficiency  of  Indian  guerilla  warfare.  Educated  military  men  in  all  ages  of  our 
history  have  been  prone  to  undervalue  the  Indian  system,  and. these  opinions  are  held 
by  some  officers  at  the  present  day.  While  the  battle  is  not  always  to  the  strong,  it 
cannot  be  expected  that  David,  with  his  sling,  will  always  kill  Goliath ;  but  well- 
drilled  armies  must  be  efficiently  protected  on  their  flanks,  and  an  accurate  adaptation 
of  means  to  ends  must  ever  be  preserved  in  the  tangled  forest,  which  cannot  be 
penetrated,  as  well  as  on  the  level  plain,  where  the  view  is  uninterrupted.  The 
heavy,  camp-fed,  clumsy-footed  soldier  is  never  a  match  in  the  forest  for  the  light, 
active  Indian  warrior.  A  review  of  our  Indian  history  from  Braddock's  day  to  the 
present  era  proves  that  a  small  Indian  force  in  ambuscade  will  overmatch  ten  times 
its  number  of  regular  troops  who  adhere  to  the  system  of  fighting  in  platoons.  The 
regulars  are  either  thrown  into  confusion,  become  panic-struck,  are  slaughtered  in 
large  numbers,  or  are  totally  defeated.  Such  was  the  result  of  Colonel  Harmar's 
attempt  to  ford  the  Miami,  and  of  St.  Clair's  to  penetrate  the  Wabash  woods.  Gen 
eral  AVayne,  who  was  like  a  lion  where  there  was  an  opportunity  to  fight,  as  at 
Stony  Point,  was  obliged  to  abandon  the  ground  on  which  Fort  Recovery  was  subse 
quently  built.  During  two  entire  years  he  contended  against  tribes  of  active  warriors, 
whose  fathers,  nay,  some  of  whom  themselves,  had  fought  against  Braddock.  It  was 
not  until  caution  had  made  him  wise,  and  he  had  attained  a  true  knowledge  of 
Indian  woodcraft,  that  he  finally  prevailed  against  them  on  the  Miami  of  the  Lakes. 

u—24 


186 


THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


It  was  there  that  he  met  the  Miamis,  Piankeshaws,  and  "VVeas,  under  Little  Turtle, 
and  the  same  leaders  who  had  opposed  Harmar  and  St.  Clair.  They  were  leagued 
with  the  Chippewas,  Ottawas,  Pottawatomies,  Delawares,  Shawnees,  and  other  Al- 
gonkin  tribes,  who,  with  the  Wyandots,  had  overthrown  Braddock.  It  is,  however, 
by  no  means  certain  that  if  the  ambuscade  so  successfully  and  warily  constructed  in 
a  wide  field  of  heavy  grass  at  the  Miami  Rapids  had  been  laid  in  a  dense  forest, 
where  horses  would  have  been  useless,  the  result  would  not  have  been  very  different. 
It  has  been  asserted  that  there  were  but  six  hundred  and  thirty-seven  Indians 
engaged  in  the  action  which  resulted  in  Braddock's  defeat.  These  consisted  prin 
cipally  of  Ottawas,  Ojibwas,  and  Pottawatomies,  from  Michigan ;  Shawnees,  from 
Grave  Creek  and  the  river  Muskingum ;  Delawares,  from  the  Susquehanna ;  Aben- 
akis  and  Caughnawagas,  from  Canada ;  and  Hurons,  or  Wyandots,  from  the  mission 
of  Lorette  and  the  Montreal  Falls,  under  Athanase,  a  Canadian.  This  force,  in 
cluding  the  recreant  Abenakis,  was,  as  may  be  seen,  entirely  of  the  Algonkin  family, 
with  the  exception  of  the  Hurons,  a  segregated  Iroquois  tribe  who  had  always  sided 
with  the  French,  and  a  few  "  scattered  warriors  from  the  Six  Nations."  To  this 
force  were  added  one  hundred  and  forty-six  Canadian  militia  and  seventy-two  regular 
troops,  who  fought  according  to  the  Indian  mode.  It  is  impossible  that  such  a  defeat 
could  have  occurred  under  ordinary  circumstances ;  and  the  fact  conclusively  attests 
the  efficacy  of  an  Indian  auxiliary  force  as  a  vanguard  to  regular  troops  in  a  wild 
forest  country,  where  they  can  screen  themselves  from  observation  and  bid  defiance 
to  the  death-dealing  artillery  or  the  attacks  of  dragoons. 


. 


CHAPTER    IIL 

KITTANNING  DESTROYED— BATTLE  OP  LAKE  GEORGE— CAPTURE  OP  OSWEGO 

AND  FORT  WILLIAM   HENRY. 

THE  sachem  commissioner,  Tanacharisson,  and  his  successor,  Scarooyadi,  had 
evinced  a  firm  friendship  for  the  English  on  the  Ohio  border,  in  conformity  with  the 
general  policy  of  the  New  York  Iroquois  tribes,  while  they  at  the  same  time  freely 
condemned  the  English  for  their  tardy  movements  and  their  non-adoption  of  the 
Indian  mode  of  warfare. 

The  consequences  of  the  defeat  on  the  Monongahela  were  most  disastrous. 
Rumor  rapidly  disseminated  the  news  in  every  direction,  and  all  the  colonies  felt 
the  effects  of  the  blow.  The  dread  of  Indian  massacres  distorted  the  quiet  of  every 
hamlet;  nor  was  their  alarm  without  due  foundation.  A  band  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  savages  crossed  the  Alleghanits  and  ravaged  the  frontiers  of  Virginia  and 
Maryland.  Foremost  in  these  forays  were  the  Delawares,  under  Shingiss,  whose  ire 
appeared  to  have  received  an  additional  stimulus  from  the  recent  triumph  of  the 
Gallic-Indian  forces.  The  Delawares  had  long  felt  the  wrong  which  they  suffered 
in  being  driven  from  the  banks  of  the  Delaware  and  the  Susquehanna,  although  it 
was  primarily  owing  to  their  ancient  enemies  and  conquerors  the  Iroquois,  whose 
policy  had  ever  been  a  word  and  a  blow. 

In  1756,  the  Delawares,  after  ravaging  the  Pennsylvania  border,  returned  to  their 
village  at  Kittanning,  within  thirty-five  miles  of  Fort  Du  Quesne.  Three  hundred 
Peunsylvanians,  under  Colonel  John  Armstrong,  of  Cumberland,  of  Scotch  Presby 
terian  descent,  marched  across  the  Alleghanies  to  destroy  them.  The  brave  Hugh 
Mercer,  who  at  twenty-three  had  shared  in  the  defeat  of  the  Pretender  at  Culloden, 
and  who  afterwards  fell  at  Princeton,  commanded  one  of  the  companies.  At  daybreak 
of  October  8,  while  the  Delawares  were  reposing  in  fancied  security,  the  attack  was 
made.  Jacobs,  their  chief,  raised  the  war-whoop.  The  wigwams  having  been  set  on 
fire,  some  of  the  warriors,  disdaining  captivity,  sung  their  death-song  in  the  flame*. 
Jacobs  and  others  were  shot  down  while  seeking  to  escape,  and  the  town  was  utterly 
destroyed.  Mercer,  severely  wounded,  and  separated  from  his  companions,  tracked 
his  way  by  the  stars  to  Fort  Cumberland.  For  this  exploit  Colonel  Armstrong  was 
presented  by  the  corporation  of  Philadelphia  with  a  vote  of  thanks,  a  medal,  and  a 
piece  of  plate. 

The  Shawnees,  friends  and  relatives  of  the  Delawares,  had  been  from  the  first 
a  revengeful,  warlike,  roving  people.  Originating  in  the  extreme  South,  they  had 
flitted  over  half  the  continent,  fighting  with  every  tribe  they  encountered,  until  they 
reached  the  extreme  shores  of  Lake  Erie,  where,  under  the  ominous  name  of 

187 


188  fOB  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Satanas,1  they  were  defeated  by  the  Iroquois,  and  thence  fled  to  the  Delaware,  and 
subsequently  to  the  Ohio  Valley.  From  an  early  period  they  were  avowed  enemies 
of  the  colonies,  and  this  enmity  never  ceased  until  after  the  overthrow,  in  1814,  of 
the  wide-spread  conspiracy  of  Tecumseh.  Both  tribes,  in  lineage  as  well  as  in 
language,  were  Algonkins,  and  adopted  their  policy,  from  first  to  last  being  cruel 
enemies  in  war,  in  peace  treacherous  friends. 

While  the  gloom  caused  by  the  defeat  of  Braddock,  and  the  evidences  of  Indian 
hostility,  which  assumed  a  tangible  shape  during  the  autumn  and  winter  of  1753, 
still  hung  like  a  cloud  on  the  Western  frontier,  an  auspicious  sign  appeared  in  the 
East  The  Iroquois  threw  the  weight  of  their  influence  into  the  English  scale.  It 
having  been  a  part  of  the  original  plan  of  the  campaign  to  take  Crown  Point,  on 
Lake  Champlain,  this  enterprise  was  intrusted  to  General  William  Johnson,  an 
officer  of  the  New  York  militia,  whose  settlement  in  the  Mohawk  Valley,  and 
influence  with  the  Indians,  have  been  previously  mentioned.  Johnson  was  placed 
in  command  of  five  or  six  thousand  New  York  and  New  England  militia,  and  a 
chosen  body  of  Mohawk  warriors  under  Soiengarahta,  locally  called  King  Hendrick. 

Soiengarahta  was  a  chief  of  high  standing  among  the  Mohawks,  of  approved 
wisdom,  undoubted  intrepidity,  and  a  firm  friend  of  the  English.  lie  had  visited 
England,  where  the  annexed  portrait  of  him  was  taken,  and  had  been  presented  at 
court.  He  united  great  amenity  of  manners,  dignity  of  bearing,  and  mild  features  to 
the  most  determined  courage  and  energy.  He  led  two  hundred  Mohawks,  who  are 
described  by  the  gazettes  of  the  day  as  having  on  this  occasion  (the  battle  of  Lake 
George)  "  fought  like  lions." 

After  laying  the  foundations  of  Fort  Edward,  Johnson  proceeded  to  the  southern 
shores  of  Lake  Sacrament,  which  he  re-named  Lake  George,  in  compliment  to  the 
reigning  house  of  Hanover.  He  there  located  his  camp  in  such  a  manner  as  to 
have  the  lake  in  his  rear,  and  some  impassable  low  grounds,  or  swamps,  on  his 
flanks.  The  Baron  Dieskau,  who  opposed'  him,  was  a  brave,  dashing  officer,  possess 
ing  great  spirit  and  strength  of  purpose,  and,  had  he  led  men  of  similar  mettle, 
would  have  readily  taken  the  English  camp.  He  had  left  Crown  Point  to  attack 
the  new  Fort  Edward  with  fifteen  hundred  men,  of  whom  two  hundred  were  drilled 
grenadiers  and  six  hundred  Canadians,  the  remainder  being  Algonkin  Indians  of 
various  tribes. 

The  Canadians  and  Indians  were  so  afraid  of  cannon  that  when  within  two 
miles  of  the  fort  they  urged  him  to  change  his  course  and  attack  Johnson  in  his 
camp  at  Lake  George.  Ascertaining  that  Johnson  was  rather  carelessly  encamped, 
and  probably  unsuspicious  of  danger,  Dieskau  acceded  to  the  request. 

On  being  apprised  of  his  approach,  Johnson  called  a  council  of  war  on  the 
morning  of  September  8,  1755.  It  was  proposed  to  send  out  a  party  to  meet  the 
French.  Hendrick  'a  opinion  was  asked.  "  If  they  are  to  fight,"  said  he,  "  they  are 

1  Golden.  This  war  must  not  be  confounded  with  that  waged  against  the  Erics,  which  took  place  a 
century  earlier. 


FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND  AND   TUB  OHIO    VALLEY.  189 

too  few ;  if  they  are  to  be  killed,  they  are  too  many."  To  the  plan  of  separating 
the  force  into  three  divisions,  his  objections  were  equally  forcible  and  shrewd. 
Taking  three  sticks,  he  remarked,  "  Put  them  together,  and  you  can't  break  them ; 
take  them  one  by  one,  and  you  can  break  them  easily."  Twelve  hundred  men  were 
gent  out,  under  Colonel  Ephraim  Williams,  to  meet  the  enemy.  Williams  College, 
in  Massachusetts,  owes  its  origin  to  a  bequest  in  this  officer's  will,  made  just  before 
he  left  home.  Before  marching,  Hendrick  mounted  a  gun-carriage  and  harangued 
his  warriors  in  a  strain  of  eloquence  which  had  a  powerful  effect  upon  them.  He 
was  then  about  sixty-five  years  old.  His  head  was  covered  with  long  white  locks, 
and  he  was  regarded  by  his  warriors  with  the  deepest  veneration.  Colonel  Seth 
1'omeroy,  who  listened  to  this  speech,  said  that,  although  he  did  not  understand  a 
word  of  the  language,  the  animation  of  Hendrick,  the  fire  of  his  eyes,  the  force  of 
his  gestures,  the  strength  of  his  emphasis,  the  apparent  propriety  of  the  inflections 
of  his  voice,  and  his  naturalness  of  manner,  were  such  that  he  himself  was  more 
deeply  affected  by  this  speech  than  by  any  other  he  had  ever  heard. 

The  French,  advised  by  scouts  of  the  march  of  the  English,  approached  through 
a  thick  wood  to  Rocky  Brook,  four  miles  from  the  lake,  with  their  line  in  the  form 
of  a  half-moon.  Into  this  perilous  circle  Colonel  Williams  unsuspectingly  led  his 
detachment,  when  a  heavy  fire  poured  upon  its  front  and  flanks  at  the  same  moment 
.  caused  a  terrible  slaughter.  Williams  was  killed,  and  Hendrick  fell  mortally 
wounded.  Lieutenant-Colonel  Whiting,  who  succeeded  to  the  command,  skilfully 
withdrew  the  survivors  of  the  force.  The  firing  being  heard  at  Lake  George, 
three  hundred  men  were  sent  to  reinforce  the  retreating  column,  and  the  pursuit 
was  checked. 

Johnson's  camp  was  still  without  intrenchments.  When  the  firing  was  heard, 
two  or  three  cannon  were  hastily  brought  up  from  the  margin  of  the  lake,  and  some 
trees  were  felled  for  a  breastwork,  affording  a  slight  protection  to  the  militia,  whose 
arms  were  fowling-pieces,  not  a  bayonet  among  them.  Dieskau's  plan  had  been  to 
rush  on  and  enter  the  camp  with  the  fugitives,  but  the  Indians  and  Canadians 
halted  and  scattered  wherever  a  shelter  appeared.  When  within  one  hundred  rods 
of  Johnson,  Dieskau  halted,  and  placed  the  Indians  and  Canadians  upon  his  flanks. 
The  regulars,  under  his  immediate  command,  attacked  the  centre  at  long  range,  but, 
having  only  small-arms,  the  effect  was  trifling.  The  Indians,  under  the  fire  of  grape- 
shot  from  Johnson's  field-pieces,  soon  broke  and  fled.  Johnson,  slightly  wounded, 
left  the  field  early  in  the  action,  and  the  battle  was  continued  for  five  hours  by 
Lyman,  the  second  in  command.  The  French  held  their  ground  steadily  during  all 
this  time,  but  finally,  abandoned  by  their  allies  and  terribly  galled  by  the  English 
fire,  they  gave  way,  and  were  pursued  in  all  directions.  Dieskau,  wounded  and 
helpless,  was  found  leaning  against  the  stump  of  a  tree.  As  the  provincial  soldier 
who  discovered  him  approached,  he  put  his  hand  in  his  pocket  to  draw  out  his  watch 
as  a  bribe  to  allow  him  to  escape.  Supposing  that  he  was  drawing  a  pistol,  the 
soldier  gave  him  a  severe  wound  in  the  hip  with  a  musket-ball.  Dieskau  was  after 
wards  exchanged,  and  died  in  Paris  in  1767. 


190  MTS  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

This  victory  revived  the  spirits  of  the  colonies,  and  occasioned  a  feeling  of  joy  far 
above  its  real  merits  or  importance.  Johnson  was  created  a  knight  baronet,  and 
voted  five  thousand  pounds  sterling  by  the  English  Parliament  He  was,  however, 
censured  for  not  pursuing  the  enemy  and  capturing  Crown  Point,  having  simply 
contented  himself  with  building  Fort  William  Henry,  on  the  site  of  his  camp. 

In  August,  1756,  Field-Marshal  the  Marquis  de  Montcalm,  who  had  recently 
arrived  at  Quebec,  and  who  had  rapidly  familiarized  himself  with  the  posture  of 
affairs,  with  great  celerity  and  secrecy  concerted  measures  for  the  capture  of  Oswego. 
The  fort,  a  large  stone  building  surrounded  by  a  wall,  flanked  by  four  small  bastions, 
was  commanded  from  adjacent  heights.  An  outpost  on  the  opposite  bunk  was. 
attacked,  and  its  garrison  were  speedily  driven  into  the  fort,  having  first  spiked  their 
cannon.  Occupying  this  height,  Montcalm  turned  his  guns  upon  the  fort,  soon 
breaching  its  walls,  and  killing  Mercer,  its  commander.  On  the  second  day  of  the 
siege,  just  ns  he  was  preparing  to  storm  the  intrenchments,  its  garrison,  about  sixteen 
hundred  in  number,  capitulated,  and  one  hundred  and  twenty  cannon,  six  vessels  of 
war,  and  three  hundred  boats,  besides  abundant  stores,  fell  into  his  hands.  The 
works  were  immediately  razed  to  the  ground. 

The  colonists  struggled  on  through  periods  of  terror  which  followed  in  close  suc 
cession.  The  defeat  of  Braddock  was  still  fresh  in  the  memory  of  all,  when  the 
announcement  of  the  disastrous  capture  of  Fort  William  Henry  rang  through  the 
colonies  with  startling  effect  In  1757,  Montcalm,  the  active  Governor-General  of 
Canada,  crossed  Lake  Champlain  to  its  attack,  with  a  force  of  six  thousand  French 
and  Canadians,  and  about  seventeen  hundred  Indians,  collected  from  the  Great  Lakes 
and  from  the  valley  of  the  St.  Lawrence.  A  person  present  on  the  2d  of  August, 
when  this  force  approached  the  fort,  represents  Lake  George  to  have  been  covered 
with  bateaux  and  canoes,  which,  combined  with  their  banners  and  music,  formed  a 
scene  of  military  display  and  magnificence,  heightened  by  the  wild  and  picturesque 
brilliance  of  the  Indian  costume,  that  has  seldom  been  equalled. 

The  soldiers  anxiously  gazed  over  the  walls  of  the  fort  at  the  approaching  force 
as  at  a  panorama.  Montcalm  disembarked  about  a  mile  and  a  half  below  the  fort 
without  interruption,  and  advanced  in  three  columns.  The  Indians  burned  the 
English  barracks,  and  scalped  their  stragglers.  The  Canadians,  under  Laconic, 
occupied  the  road  leading  to  the  Hudson,  and  cut  off  the  communication.  De  Levi, 
with  regulars  and  Canadians,  was  at  the  north,  while  Montcalm,  with  the  main  body, 
occupied  the  skirt  of  the  woods  on  the  west  side  of  the  lake.  On  the  4th,  Montcalra 
sent  proposals  to  Munro  for  surrender,  which  the  latter  refused.  He  then  brought 
up  his  artillery,  and  soon  the  first  battery  of  nine  cannon  and  two  mortars  opened 
upon  the  fort.  Two  days  later  a  second  battery  was  established,  and  by  means  of 
zigzags  the  Indians  could  stand  within  gunshot  of  the  works. 

During  five  days  the  fort  was  defended  with  intrepidity  by  Colonel  Munro,  who 
had  a  garrison  of  five  hundred  regular  troops,  supported  by  a  body  of  provincials. 
It  was  closely  besieged,  while  the  Indians,  encamped  on  the  surrounding  fields,  made 
the  forest  ring  with  their  shouts  and  war-songs,  and  illuminated  the  obscurity  of 


FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND  AND    TUB  OHIO    VALLEY.  191 

night  with  their  numerous  camp-fires.  About  seventeen  hundred  provincials,  who 
were  encamped  outside  the  fort,  took  refuge  within  the  works  as  soon  as  the  enemy 
arrived.  The  defence  was  stoutly  maintained,  a  hope  being  entertained  that  rein 
forcements,  which  had  been  demanded,  would  arrive  from  Fort  Edward.  Expresses 
were  repeatedly  sent  to  General  Webb  imploring  aid,  but  he  remained  inactive  and 
indifferent  in  his  camp  at  Fort  Edward,  where  he  had  four  thousand  men. 

General  Johnson  was  at  last  allowed  to  march  with  Putnam  and  his  rangers  to 
the  relief  of  the  beleaguered  garrison,  but  when  about  three  miles  from  Fort  Edward 
Webb  recalled  them,  and  sent  a  letter  to  Munro  saying  that  he  could  render  him  no 
assistance,  and  advising  him  to  surrender.  This  letter  unfortunately  fell  into  Mont- 
calm's  hands  just  as  he  was  about  to  suspend  the  operations  of  the  siege  preparatory 
to  a  retreat,  his  Indians  having  informed  him  of  the  movement  of  Johnson  and 
Putnam  and  represented  the  English  reinforcements  to  be  as  numerous  as  the  leaves 
on  the  trees.  This  letter  he  at  once  sent  to  Munro,  proposing  an  immediate  sur 
render.  Seeing  the  hopelessness  of  the  case,  half  of  his  cannon  having  burst,  and 
his  ammunition  and  stores  being  nearly  exhausted,  the  brave  old  soldier  capitulated 
on  the  9th.  The  fort  was  entirely  demolished  by  Montcalm,  and  was  never  rebuilt. 

One  of  the  terms  of  the  capitulation  was  that  the  army  should  be  allowed  to 
march  out  with  their  arms,  but  without  ammunition,  and,  with  all  the  camp-fol 
lowers,  should  have  a  safe-conduct  to  Fort  Edward.  No  sooner,  however,  had  the 
•  English  columns  marched  out  of  the  gates  and  reached  the  plain  than  the  Indians 
began  to  plunder  them  of  their  effects,  and  finally  to  strip  both  officers  and  men  of 
their  clothing.  Resistance  was  followed  by  blows,  and  many,  stark  naked,  were  glad 
to  escape  with  their  lives.  In  vain  did  the  troops,  destitute  of  ammunition,  claim 
protection  from  this  outrage.  Colonel  Munro,  after  the  pillage  commenced,  took 
shelter  in  the  fort,  and  demanded  that  the  terms  of  the  capitulation  should  be 
enforced.  The  French  have  been  blamed,  perhaps  justly,  for  not  efficiently  per 
forming  their  engagements ;  but  it  is  no  easy  matter  to  restrain  marauding  Indians. 
It  has  been  asserted,  but  not  proved,  that  a  large  number  of  the  force  which  surren 
dered  on  this  occasion  perished  subsequently,1  but  it  is  probable  that  the  fears  of 
an  officer  who  narrowly  escaped  from  this  scene  of  pillage  far  exceeded  his  capacity 
for  cool  judgment.  His  statement*  of  the  carnnge  are  certainly  not  sustained  by  any 
historical  authority  to  which  we  have  had  access. 

Lieutenant-Govcrnor  De  Lancey,  in  a  letter  written  August  24,  1757,  observes, 
"  Montcalm,  under  his  own  eyes,  and  in  the  face  of  about  three  thousand  regular 
troops,  suffered  the  Indians  to  rob  and  strip  them,  officers  as  well  as  men,  of  all  they 
had,  and  left  most  of  them  naked."  The  nation  that  employs  Indians  in  war  places 
itself  in  the  position  of  a  person  who  taps  a  broad  lake,  leading  the  waters  by  a  little 
stream  through  a  sand-bank.  When  the  current  swells,  he  cannot  control  it,  and  the 
augmented  flood  sweeps  everything  before  it. 

•  Carrer,  p.  211. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

CAMPAIGNS  OF  178S-59— GRANTS  DEFEAT— BOUQUETS  BATTLE— REDUCTION 
OF  FORT  DU  QUESNE— CONFERENCE  WITH  THE  IROQUOIS— CONQUEST  OF 
CANADA— ITS  INFLUENCE  UPON  THE  HOSTILE  TRIBES. 

• 

AFTER  the  defeat  of  Braddock  the  British  interest  with  the  Indians  rapidly 
declined.  As  Indians  judge  from  appearances  alone,  it  was  not  an  easy  task  to 
convince  them  that  the  English  power  had  not  permanently  failed.  Johnson,  who 
in  the  spring  of  1755  had  been  appointed  by  Braddock  the  Superintendent-General 
of  British  Indian  affairs,  began  his  new  duties  as  soon  as  he  reached  New  York,  and 
labored  earnestly  to  restore  confidence  among  the  Iroquois  and  Algonkin  tribes. 
He  was  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  geography  of  the  country,  as  also  with  the 
Indian  power  and  resources  in  America,  from  North  to  South,  and  as  thoroughly 
conversant  with  the  true  character  of  the  aborigines.  In  his  speeches  he  stripped 
them  of  their  guises,  laid  bare  their  secret  impulses,  and  pointed  out  to  them  their 
interests  in  clear  and^bold  terms.  During  sixty  years,  beginning  with  the  foun 
dation  of  New  Orleans,  in  1699,  the  French  influence  among  the  Indians  had  been 
on  the  increase.  The  noble  enterprise  of  LA  Salle  and  his  followers,  who  passed 
through  the  Great  Lakes  and  down  the  Mississippi,  singing  as  they  went,  the  gay 
and  sprightly  manners  of  the  French,  their  ready  adapt iveu ess  to  a  nomadic  course 
of  life,  replete  with  novelty  and  breathing  the  spirit  of  personal  independence, 
together  with  their  entire  political  and  religious  policy,  impressed  the  Indians  with 
almost  inexplicable  emotions  of  pleasure  and  approbation.  The  French  required  no 
cessions  of  land,  built  no  factories,  traded  with  them  in  a  free  and  easy  way,  and  did 
not  fill  the  Indian  mind  with  the  idea  of  the  coming  of  a  people  who,  by  the  pro 
gressive  inroads  of  labor  and  letters,  would  eventually  sweep  them  from  the  earth. 
Whatever  was  the  cause,  certainly  no  other  European  nation  ever  acquired  so  ample 
and  wide-spread  an  influence  over  them.1 

Immediately  after  returning  from  Alexandria,  Sir  William  Johnson  assembled  a 
very  large  number  of  Indians — some  accounts  say  twelve  hundred — at  his  place  on 
the  Mohawk,  and  communicated  to  them  the  fact  of  his  new  appointment  He  made 
them  offers  in  this  assembly  for  the  purpose  of  restoring  their  lost  confidence  in  the 
English  and  detaching  them  from  the  French  interests,  to  inspire  them  with  a  just 
estimation  of  the  power  of  Britain,  and  to  interest  them  in  the  British  cause, — 
objects  in  which  he  by  perseverance  succeeded.  He  eloquently  pleaded  for  their 

1  One  of  the  Jesuit  priests  remarks  that  "  the  French  did  not  convert  the  Indians,  bat  tamed  Indiana 
themselves." — Halket. 
192 


FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND  AND    THE  OHIO    VALLEY.  193 

assent  to  his  proposal  to  send  a  body  of  warriors  with  General  Braddock,  but  in  this 
he  was  unsuccessful.  Good  diplomatists  at  all  times,  they  met  him  by  a  declaration 
that  the  Governor  of  Virginia,  who  was  not  a  favorite,  had,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
Ohio  Company,  intruded  on  their  lands  in  the  Ohio  Valley,  where  their  sachem, 
Tauacharisson,  resided ;  also  that  it  was  a  suddenly  originated  proposal,  which 
required  deliberation.  They  likewise,  for  reasons  stated,  declined  accompanying 
General  Shirley  to  Oswego,  but  agreed  to  assist  him  in  the  contemplated  attack 
on  Crown  Point,  to  the  command  of  the  forces  detailed  for  which  purpose  he  had 
been  appointed.  The  latter  promise  was  promptly  fulfilled,  and  at  the  defeat  of 
Dieskau  on  the  banks  of  Lake  George,  the  Mohawks,  under  Hendrick,  acquitted 
themselves  in  such  a  manner  as  to  gain  a  high  reputation.1 

The  victory  at  Lake  George  was  the  turning-point  in  the  ascendency  of  the 
British  influence  with  the  Iroquois  and  their  allies,  which  had  been  at  a  very  low 
ebb  at  the  beginning  of  the  French  war,  in  1744.  The  fame  which  followed  thia 
victory  aided  greatly  in  raising  Johnson  in  the  estimation  of  the  Indians,  and  from 
this  date  the  Indian  political  horizon  began  to  brighten.  In  a  letter  to  the  Lords 
of  Trade,  dated  September  28,  1757,  Johnson  points  out  their  true  policy,  while 
he  warns  them  of  the  deep-rooted  dislike  which  the  Indians  entertained  towards  the 
colonial  patentees,  who  had  made  the  encroachments  on  their  lands,  of  which  the 
Indians  complain.  "  By  presents  and  management  we  may  be  able  to  keep  some 
little  interest  yet  alive,  and  induce  some  nations  to  a  course  of  neutrality ;  but  I  am 
apprehensive  that  more  expense,  speeches,  and  promises  (so  often  repeated  and  so 
little  regarded)  will  never  be  able  to  effect  a  favorable  revolution  in  our  Indian 
interests  and  deprive  the  French  of  the  advantages  they  have  over  us  by  their 
Indian  alliances.  I  would  be  understood,  my  Lords,  that  there  is  no  alternative 
by  which  we  may  possibly  avail  ourselves  so  as  to  keep  an  even  hand  with  the 
Indians ;  but  reducing  the  French  to  our  terms  would  enable  us  to  give  law  to  the 
Indians." 

This  became  the  British  policy.  Belts  and  speeches  were  inadequate  to  the 
result ;  it  was  a  contest  between  England  and  France  which  must  be  settled,  and 
the  nation  that  gained  it  would  control  the  Indians.  The  triumph  at  Lake  George, 
in  which  action  Soiengarahta  lost  his  life,  seemed  to  presage  events  which  were  soon 
to  take  place.  The  taking  of  Fort  William  Henry  and  the  outrages  perpetrated 
upon  the  prisoners  only  gave  a  new  impulse  to  the  vigor  with  which  England  pre 
pared  to  contest  the  supremacy. 

No  one  understood  better  than  Johnson  the  position  of  the  two  parties  contending 
for  supremacy ;  and  in  a  general  council  convened  at  his  Hall  on  the  Mohawk, 
April  19,  1767,  at  which  the  Shawnees  and  other  Algonkin  tribes,  as  well  as  the 
Iroquois,  were  present,  he  presented  the  case  in  the  following  forcible  manner : 

"  Brethren,  listen,  and  I  will  tell  you  the  difference  between  the  English  and  the 

*  Had  it  not  been  for  the  jealousy  of  General  Shirley,  and  hu  counteracting  counsels  with  the  Six 
Nation*,  the  force  in  this  battle  would  hare  been  orach  greater. — N.  T.  Hitt.  CoL  Doe.,  voL  TU.  p.  21. 

11—25 


194  TnE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

French.  The  English  desire  and  labor  to  unite  all  Indians  into  one  general  bond  of 
brotherly  love  and  national  interest.  The  French  endeavor  to  divide  the  Indiana 
and  stir  up  war  and  contention  among  them.  Those  who  intend  to  destroy  or 
enslave  any  people  or  nation  will  first  endeavor  to  divide  them.  This  you  and  all 
the  Indians  upon  this  continent  know  has  always  been,  and  continues  to  be,  the 
endeavor  of  the  French.  But  though  this  is  a  fact  which  I  think  all  the  Indians 
must  certainly  see,  yet  the  French  have  found  means,  somehow  or  other,  so  to 
bewitch  their  understandings  as  to  make  many  of  them  believe  they  love  the  Indians 
and  mean  well  towards  them.  'Tis  very  strange,  brethren,  that  any  one  man,  much 
more  any  number  of  men,  who  are  not  either  mad  or  drunk,  can  believe  that  stirring 
up  brethren  to  spill  each  other's  blood,  dividing  them  from  one  another,  and  making 
parties  among  them,  are  proofs  of  love  and  marks  of  friendly  design  towards  them. 
Not  less  unaccountable  is  it,  brethren,  that  the  French  should  be  able  to  persuade  the 
Indians  that  building  forts  in  the  middle  of  their  country  and  hunting-grounds  is 
for  their  interest  and  protection.  I  tell  you,  brethren,  and  I  warn  you,  that  whatever 
good  words  the  French  may  give  you,  how  much  soever  they  may  now  smile  upon 
you,  whatever  presents  they  may  now  make  you,  your  chains  are  in  their  pockets, 
and  when  their  designs  are  ripe  for  execution  they  will  take  the  axe  out  of  their 
bosom  and  strike  it  into  your  heads.  But  this  they  know  they  cannot  do  until  you 
have  broken  the  Covenant  Chain  with  your  brethren  the  English  and  taken  up  the 
axe  against  them.  'Tis  for  this  reason  the  French  are  always  endeavoring,  by  lies, 
by  presents,  by  promises,  to  stir  up  all  Indians  to  fall  upon  the  English  settlements 
and  destroy  their  best  friends  and  faithful  brethren  ;  and  many  Indians  have  been  so 
wicked  and  so  foolish  as,  in  spite  of  treaties  and  ancient  friendship,  to  become  the 
dogs  of  the  French,  and  come  and  go  as  they  command  them. 

"  Brethren,  if  the  Indians  do  not  return  to  their  senses  they  will  see  and  feel, 
when  it  is  too  late,  that  they  have  ruined  themselves,  enslaved  their  posterity,  and 
lost  their  country.  They  will  find  their  country  fortified  by  the  French,  not  against 
the  English,  but  against  the  Indians  themselves. 

"  Brethren,  what  I  have  said,  and  am  going  to  say,  I  say  not  to  you  only,  but  to 
all  Indians ;  and  I  desire  you  will  with  this  belt  make  it  known  among  all  the 
nations  you  have  any  acquaintance  or  connection  with. 

"  Tell  them,  from  me,  to  look  at  the  French  forts  built  and  building  through  the 
middle  of  their  country  and  on  their  best  hunting-lands.  Let  them  look  at  the 
French  flags  flying  in  their  forts  at  all  the  great  lakes  and  along  the  great  rivers,  in 
order  to  oblige  them  to  trade  with  the  French  only,  sell  their  skins,  and  take  goods 
for  them  at  what  prices  the  French  please  to  put  on  them.  And  it  is  a  thing  well 
known  to  all  Indians  that  the  French  cannot  sell  them  goods  nearly  so  cheap  as  the 
English  can,  nor  in  such  assortments  and  plenty." 

To  renew  the  attempt  of  Braddock  had  been  the  original  plan  of  General  Shirley, 
but  the  following  year  passed  in  merely  concerting  measures.  The  plan  of  the 
campaign  of  1758  contemplated  the  reduction  of  Crown  Point,  on  Lake  Chain  plain, 
and  of  Fort  Du  Quesne,  on  the  Ohio.  General  Abercrombie,  who  undertook  the 


FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND  AND    THE  OHIO    VALLEY.  195 

former,  aided  by  a  large  army,  suffered  a  repulse.  Lord  Howe  fell  while  leading  an 
attack,  and  when,  in  a  few  days,  it  was  renewed  against  an  impregnable  breastwork 
of  horizontal  trees,  they  were  compelled  to  retreat  to  Fort  Edward.  The  Mohawks, 
who  were  present  at  this  assault,  looked  on  with  amazement  at  this  exhibition  of 
heroic  but  injudicious  bravery.  As  an  episode  to  this  siege,  Colonel  Bradstreet  pro 
ceeded  by  a  sudden  march  to  Oswego,  with  the  Iroquois  in  his  train,  and,  crossing 
Lake  Ontario  in  bateaux,  on  the  25th  of  August  surprised  and  took  Fort  Frontenac, 
capturing  a  large  amount  of  supplies^as  well  as  arms. 

The  reduction  of  Fort  Du  Quesne  was  intrusted  to  General  Forbes.  He  marched 
from  Philadelphia  with  an  army  of  five  thousand  eight  hundred  regulars  and  pro 
vincials,  and  a  commissary  and  quartermaster's  force  of  one  thousand  wagoners. 
Washington  joined  him  at  Fort  Cumberland  with  his  regiment  of  Virginians.  At 
Raystown,  Forbes  sent  Colonel  Bouquet  forward  with  two  thousand  men,  but  in  a 
spirit  of  confidence  Bouquet  despatched  eight  hundred  of  this  force,  under  Major 
James  Grant,  to  make  observations  in  advance.  On  September  14  the  latter  com 
mander  was  surprised  on  hills  overlooking  the  fort  by  M.  Aubrey,  with  seven  or 
eight  hundred  Frenchmen  and  an  unnumbered  force  of  Indians,  his  troops  defeated 
with  dreadful  slaughter,  and  himself  and  nineteen  other  officers  made  prisoners  and 
sent  to  Montreal.  The  retreat  of  the  survivors  was  effected  by  the  skill  and  energy 
of  Captain  Bullit,  who  with  fifty  men  had  been  left  in  charge  of  the  baggage.  The 
loss  in  Grant's  defeat  was  numerically  greater,  in  proportion  to  those  engaged,  than 
that  sustained  in  Braddock's.  Thirty-five  officers  were  killed  or  wounded.  The 
prisoners  taken  by  the  Indians  served,  as  it  were,  to  surfeit  their  barbarity  and 
cruelty  and  to  disincline  them  towards  proceeding  farther,  for  after  reaching  Du 
Quesne  they  soon  dispersed,  and  deserted  the  fort.  Twelve  hundred  French  and 
Indians,  under  De  Vetrie,  attacked  Bouquet's  camp  with  great,  fury  and  obstinacy 
on  October  12.  The  battle  lasted  four  hours,  when  by  a  skilful  ruse  the  enemy 
were  repulsed  after  severe  fighting.  Colonel  Bouquet's  loss  was  sixty-seven  killed 
and  wounded.  On  the  arrival  of  General  Forbes  the  combined  English  force  moved 
on  with  regularity,  and  on  the  24th  of  November  encamped  at  Turtle  Creek,  within 
twelve  miles  of  the  fort. 

No  Indians  were  descried  by  the  scouts,  and  the  night  passed  away  without 
alarm.  On  the  2oth,  at  rn  early  hour,  the  army  was  put  in  motion,  and  as  the 
advance-guard  approached  the  location  of  the  fort  they  observed  large  columns  of 
smoke,  and  at  intervals  heard  heavy  explosions.  The  indications  could  not  be  mis 
taken.  The  fort  had  been  abandoned,  after  being  set  on  fire,  its  artillery  being 
embarked  for  the  Illinois  and  its  infantry  for  Lake  Erie.  The  defeat  of  Grant,  and 
the  prisoners  captured,  had  proved  an  escape-valve  for  Indian  barbarity.  After 
practising  the  most  inhuman  tortures  upon  the  prisoners,  whose  bleached  skeletons 
lined  the  approach  to  the  fort,  and  after  rioting  in  debauch,  they  had,  with  their 
usual  impatience,  returned  to  their  forest  homes,  leaving  General  Forbes  to  advance 
unmolested,  and  abandoning  De  Legneris,  the  French  commander.  On  the  25th  the 
column  advanced  in  force,  and  the  British  flag  was  triumphantly  planted  on  the  fort 


196  TBE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

by  General  Forbes,  who  bestowed  upon  it  the  name  of  the  celebrated  British  min 
ister  Pitt  The  western  line  of  the  colonial  frontiers  was  thus  advanced  to  the 
river  Ohio.1  From  this  period  Indian  warfare  found  its  principal  field  of  develop 
ment  west  of  and  beyond  that  border,  well  named  the  River  Beautiful  by  the  Indian 
tribes. 

At  the  victory  obtained  on  Lake  George  in  1755,  a  year  so  disastrous  to  the 
British  army,  the  Mohawks  alone,  of  the  six  Iroquois  cantons,  were  present,  with 
Johnson,  their  beloved  Warraghiyagay,  and  two  hundred  warriors,  headed  by  the 
great  Soiengarahta.  A  far  greater  force  had  been  expected  from  and  promised  by 
the  Oneidas,  Onondagas,  Cayugas,  Tuscaroras,  and  Senecas,  but,  owing  to  the  influence 
of  General  Shirley,  whose  act  appears  to  have  been  dictated  by  no  higher  motive 
than  personal  envy  of  Johnson's  rising  power  with  that  people,  these  tribes  withheld 
their  respective  quotas  of  warriors.  A  vacillating  and  indecisive  policy  had  been 
pursued  by  them  for  some  years,  and  while  they  were,  to  use  symbolic  language,  in 
the  chain  of  friendship  with  the  English,  and  held  the  other  tribes  in  check,  in  con- 
'  formity  with  their  own  and  the  British  interests,  they  were  lukewarm  in  taking  the 
field  as  the  auxiliaries  of  the  English  armies.  Johnson  had  endeavored,  soon  after 
his  return  from  his  conference  with  Braddock,  to  induce  a  body  of  the  confederates 
to  cross  the  Alleghanies  with  that  officer,  but  they  evaded  the  proposal.  Cherishing 
from  ancient  times  an  ill  feeling  towards  Assaragoa,  their  name  for  the  Governor  of 
Virginia,  they  regarded  Braddock's  advance  as  a  Virginia  movement.  They  deemed 
the  Virginians  land-robbers  who  coveted  the  Ohio  Valley,  and  they  were  sufficiently 
good  diplomatists  to  bring  forward  several  weighty  considerations  on  the  subject  It 
happened  while  this  negotiation  was  pending  that  they  furnished  Johnson  with  mes- 
•  sengers  to  the  authorities  at  Fort  Cumberland.  These  Indian  runners  were  there 
informed  that  a  party  of  six  of  the  warriors  sent  out  by  the  Mohawks  against  the 
Catawbas  had  all  been  killed.  This  news  exercised  such  a  bad  effect  on  the  council 
that  they  neither  promised  nor  furnished  aid  to  Braddock,  although  they  did  not 
join  the  Indian  forces  on  the  Ohio  to  oppose  him.  Not  a  man  of  their  people  who 
bore  the  honored  title  of  Mingoes  was  in  the  battle  of  the  Monongahela.  Tanacha- 
risson,  called  the  Half-King,  and  Scarooyadi,  his  successor,  evinced  throughout  a  firm 
friendship  for  the  English,  first  pledged  to  Washington  during  his  perilous  journey 
in  1753. 

The  Iroquois  had  from  the  remotest  antiquity  enjoyed  the  reputation  of  eloquent 
orators  and  expert  diplomatists.  But  Johnson  was  not  a  man  to  be  dazzled  by  words 
and  speeches  while  the  weightier  matter  of  action  was  in  abeyance.  In  a  general 
conference  with  the  Onondagas  and  more  westerly  tribes,  held  June  16,  1757,  nearly 
two  years  subsequent  to  his  victory  on  Lake  George,  in  which  the  Mohawks  had  so 
nobly  supported  him,  he  alluded  to  this  matter,  and  proceeded  to  dispose  of  some  of 
their  diplomatic  subterfuges. 

1  The  elements  of  this  word  are  the  Iroqnoia  exclamation  oh,  and  to,  *  substantive  termination  of  the 
exclamation  for  the  beautiful  in  soenerj.  It  ia  the  same  term  as  that  heard  in  the  Wjandot  word  Ontar-io. 


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FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND  AND   THE  OHIO    VALLEY,  197 

"  Brethren,"  said  he,  "  you  tell  me  the  reason  you  did  not  make  use  of  the  hatchet 
I  sharpened  for  you  last  summer,  when  I  was  at  Onondaga,  and  at  which  time  I  also 
painted  and  feathered  your  warriors  for  action,  was  because  you  found  yourselves  in 
danger  from  the  Mississagies,  and  therefore  were  obliged  to  let  my  hatchet  lie  by 
you,  and  take  care  of  yourselves. 

"  Brethren,  this  is  the  first  time  I  have  heard  the  Misssisagies  were  your  enemies, 
and  I  am  surprised  how  it  came  about.  It  is  but  two  years  ago,  at  the  great  meeting 
here,  that  you  brought  down  the  chief  man  among  the  Mississagies,  and  introduced 
him  to  me  as  your  great  friend  and  ally,  and  told  me  that  he  and  his  people  were 
determined  to  follow  the  example  of  the  Five  Nations.  You  then  desired  I  would 
treat  and  consider  him  accordingly,  which  I  did,  and  gave  him  presents  to  his  satis 
faction,  and  he  took  belts  from  me  to  his  people.  For  what  reason,  therefore,  you 
think  yourselves  in  danger  from  the  Mississagies  I  cannot  comprehend,  unless  it  is 
from  some  misunderstanding  which  I  hear  happened  in  the  woods  some  few  days  ago 
between  some  of  your  people  and  them. 

"  Brethren,  another  reason  you  give  me  for  your  inactivity  is  that  you  are  few  in 
number  and  you  daily  hear  yourselves  threatened  by  your  enemies.  As  to  your 
numbers,  had  you  taken  my  advice,  given  you  many  years  ago,  and  often  repeated, 
you  might  now  have  been  a  strong  people.  I  should  be  glad  to  know  who  these 
enemies  are,  and  what  grounds  you  have  for  these  fears. 

"Brethren,  you  say  that  the  English  would  first  make  a  trial  against  their 
enemies,  and  that  if  we  found  we  could  not  do  without  you,  then  we  would  call  on 
you  for  your  assistance.  I  have  looked  over  the  records,  where  all  public  speeches 
and  business  with  the  Nations  are  faithfully  written  down,  and  I  find  no  such  thing 
there,  and  I  am  very  positive  you  must  be  mistaken ;  for  from  the  first  meeting  I  had 
with  the  Six  Nations,  after  my  return  from  Virginia,  to  this  day,  I  have  been  con 
stantly  calling  and  exhorting  them,  as  children  of  the  Great  King  of  England,  as 
brothers  and  allies  to  the  English,  to  join  and  assist  His  Majesty's  arms  against  our 
common  enemy,  the  French ;  and  the  Six  Nations  have  as  frequently  assured  me 
they  would  act  with  us  and  for  us ;  and  you  must  know  you  have  a  great  number  of 
belts  from  me  on  this  subject  now  in  your  possession.  You  tell  me,  though  you  don't 
know  from  what  quarter,  that  you  expect  in  a  few  montlis  to  be  attacked  by  some 
enemy,  and  that  therefore  you  think  your  own  preservation  requires  you  to  stay  at 
home  and  be  on  your  guard.  What  foundation  you  have  for  all  these  fears,  so  lately 
come  upon  you,  you  have  not  thought  proper  to  inform  me;  and  therefore  I  am  at  a 
loss  about  it,  especially  as  I  understand  several  parties  of  your  young  men  are  gone 
a  fighting  to  the  southward.  Formerly  you  told  me  that  if  you  had  forts  built  at 
your  towns,  and  some  men  to  garrison  them,  you  might  then  go  to  war  with  your 
brethren  the  English,  and  not  be  afraid  for  your  old  men,  your  wives  and  children, 
during  your  absence.  These  forts,  though  very  expensive  to  the  King  your  Father, 
were  accordingly  built  for  you,  and  if  you  had  applied  you  might  have  had  men  to 
garrison  them.  Brethren,  your  conduct  will,  in  my  opinion,  appear  very  ungrateful, 
and  your  reasonings  very  inconsistent,  to  the  King  your  Father,  and  to  all  your 


198  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

brethren,  the  English,  when  they  come  to  their  knowledge,  as  they  soon  will  do; 
wherefore  I  would  advise  you  to  reconsider  the  matter  and  take  it  into  your  most 
serious  consideration. 

"  Brethren,  you  say  Captain  Montour  and  Captain  Butler  brought  you  a  message 
in  my  name,  that  I  expected  you  would  use  the  hatchet  I  had  put  in  your  hands 
against  the  French ;  that  the  message  was  laid  before  the  council  of  Onondaga,  who 
said  they  did  not  expect  such  a  message  from  you,  as  the  Covenant  Chain  was  for  the 
common  safety  both  of  us  and  you,  and  that  if  you  were  to  leave  your  country 
unguarded  it  might  end  in  your  destruction. 

"  Brethren,  it  is  certain  the  Covenant  Chain  was  made  for  our  common  good  and 
safety,  and  it  is  well  known  to  you  all  that  it  speaks  in  this  manner :  That  the  English 
and  the  Six  Nations  shall  consider  themselves  as  onejlesh  and  blood,  and  that  whenever 
any  enemy  shall  hurt  the  one,  the  other  is  to  feel  it  and  avenge  it  as  if  done  to  himself.  - 
Have  not  the  French  hurt  us  ?  Is  not  their  axe  in  our  heads  ?  Are  they  not  daily 
killing  and  biking  our  people  away  ?  Have  not  some  of  your  nations,  both  to  the 
southward  and  northward,  joined  the  French  against  us  ?  Nay,  some  of  you,  by 
your  own  confession,  have  gone  out  by  yourselves  and  struck  the  English.  Have 
you  not  now  several  of  our  people  prisoners  among  you  whom  you  conceal  from  me? 
Have  you  not,  lastly,  suffered  the  Swegachie  Indians  to  come  through  your  habita 
tions  and  take  one  of  our  people  from  the  German  Flats  ?  Let  me  ask  you  now  if 
all  this  is  behaving  like  brethren,  and  whether  you  ought  not  to  be  ashamed  when 
you  put  us  in  mind  of  the  Covenant  Chain.  Surely  you  dream,  or  think  I  have 
forgotten  the  old  agreement  between  us,  when  you  talk  in  this  manner.  I  take  you 
by  the  head,  and  rouse  you  from  your  lethargy,  and  bring  you  to  your  senses. 

"Brethren,  you  say  you  must  take  care  of  yourselves,  and  not  leave  your  country 
unguarded.  When  our  brother's  house  is  on  fire,  will  another  brother  look  quietly 
on,  smoke  his  pipe  at  his  own  door,  and  say  he  can't  help  him  because  perhaps  his 
own  house  may  take  fire?  Does  the  Covenant  Chain  speak  this  language?  Did 
your  forefathers  talk  after  this  manner  ?  Did  I  talk  so  to  you  when  the  Onondagas, 
Oneidas,  and  Tuscaroras  sent  me  word  last  year  that  they  expected  the  enemy  were 
coming  upon  them  ?  Did  not  I  and  your  brethren  run  through  the  ice  and  snow,  at 
two  or  three  different  times,  to  their  assistance  ?  Where  and  who  are  those  enemies 
you  so  much  dread  ?  Let  us  know,  do  you  want  our  assistance  ?  if  you  are  in 
danger,  we  know  the  Covenant  Chain,  and  will  be  ready  to  defend  or  die  with  you. 
We  won't  tell  you  to  make  one  trial  by  yourselves,  and  that  we  must  stay  at  home 
and  take  care  of  our  own  preservation. 

"  You  always  tell  me  'tis  for  our  mutual  interest  you  go  so  often  to  Canada :  I 
am  apt  to  think  you  have  brought  these  alarms  and  these  fears  with  you  from  thence. 

"  Brethren,  I  must  tell  you  that  my  orders  from  the  King  your  Father  are  to 
take  care  of  and  supply  with  necessaries  such  good  and  faithful  Indians  as  will  go 
out  and  fight  for  him  and  his  people ;  and  that  such  and  their  families  only  has  he 
empowered  me  to  arm,  clothe,  and  provide  for,  which  I  shall  continue  to  do  to  all 
such  as  will  go  out  upon  service ;  and  those  I  dare  say  will  in  the  end  find  they  have 


FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND  AND   THE  OHIO    VALLEY.  199 

acted  more  for  their  honor  and  interest  than  those  who  stay  at  home  aud  smoke  their 
pipes. 

"  Brethren,  you  have  assured  me  that  it  is  the  unanimous  resolution  of  the  Five 
Nations  to  hold  fast  the  ancient  Covenant  Chain  made  by  our  forefathers  and  yours. 
Brethren,  our  end  of  this  chain  is  bright  and  strong,  and  we  shall  not  be  the  first  to 
let  it  go ;  but  it  seems  to  me  that  your  end  is  grown  very  rusty,  and  without  great 
care  will  be  in  danger  of  being  eaten  through,  which  I  should  be  very  sorry  to  see, 
as  it  would  be  the  means,  also,  of  extinguishing  the  fire  here,  and  oversetting  the 
Tree  of  Shelter." 

It  was  the  policy  of  the  British  colonial  government,  in  establishing  a  general 
and  central  superin  tendency  at  Fort  Johnson,  on  the  Mohawk  River,  not  only  to 
attach  {he  Six  Nations  strongly  to  its  interests,  but  also  to  govern  the  entire  Indian 
country  through  their  extensive  influence  over  the  other  groups  of  tribes.  This 
general  policy  had  been  understood  and  carried  out  by  the  colonial  governors  of  New 
York  from  the  beginning  of  the  century,  and  indeed  dates  back  to  the  Dutch,  as  it 
was  pursued  by  them  in  1664.  Trade  was  principally  conducted  at  the  central  point, 
Albany,  but  traders  were  allowed  to  visit  remote  places.  The  French  traders  from 
Canada  obtained  their  best  supplies  from  Albany,  and  the  intercourse  thus  established 
upon  and  cemented  by  a  triple  interest — that  of  the  tribes,  the  merchants,  and  the 
governing  power — became  a  firm  bond  of  union,  and  one  that  gained  strength  by 
the  lapse  of  time.  The  metals,  woollens,  and  other  articles  of  real  value  which  they 
received  in  exchange  for  their  furs  were  so  much  superior  to  the  products  of  the 
rude  arts  Hudson  found  in  their  possession  in  1609,  that  it  is  doubtful  even  whether 
at  this  period  many  remembered  that  the  Iroquois  had  ever  used  stone  knives,  axes, 
and  pipes,  or  made  fish-hooks  of  bones,  awls  of  deer's  horns,  and  cooking-pots  out 
of  clay. 

But,  although  a  trade  so  mutually  beneficial  established  a  firm  friendship,  and 
the  growth  of  every  decade  of  the  colonies  added  to  its  strength,  it  was  not,  in 
fact,  until  the  abolition  of  the  power  of  the  Indian  commissioners  at  Albany,  who 
were  frequently  traders  themselves,  and  the  transfer  of  the  superintendency  of  Indian 
affairs  to  the  hands  of  Johnson,  that  an  elevated  and  true  national  tone  was  given  to 
the  system.  When  Johnson  was  placed  in  the  possession  of  power,  he  visited  their 
remotest  villages  and  castles,  and  built  stockades  in  each  of  their  towns  to  serve  as 
places  of  refuge  if  suddenly  attacked.  In  his  anxiety  to  control  the  Algonkins  and 
the  Dionondades,  or  Quaghtagies,  he  had  visited  Detroit,  and  his  agents  had  scoured 
the  Illinois,  the  Miami,  the  Wabash,  and  the  Ohio,  before  the  French  built  Fort  Du 
Quesne.  When  he  could  send  them  messages  by  the  power  of  the  king,  or  speak  to 
them  in  his  council-room  with  the  voice  of  a  king,  he  had  also,  as  we  may  readily 
perceive  from  the  records  published  at  this  late  day,  the  judgment,  firmness,  and 
prudence  of  a  king.  No  one,  it  would  seem,  could  be  better  adapted  to  give  solid 
advice  to  the  Indians  of  all  the  tribes. 

Johnson  did  not  limit  his  attentions  to  the  Six  Nations.  After  the  defeat  of 
Braddock  the  entire  frontier  line  of  Pennsylvania,  Maryland,  and  Virginia  was  left 


200  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

unprotected.  Invasion,  rapine,  and  murder  were  the  common  inflictions  under  which 
groaned  the  entire  interior  country  from  the  Ohio  to  the  Susquehanna,  and  not  a 
farm  could  be  settled  or  a  team  driven  on  the  road  without  incurring  the  risk  of 
death  or  captivity.  These  murders  having  been  chiefly  attributed  to  the  Shawnees 
and  Delawares,  who  were  still  located  on  the  sources  of  the  Susquehanna,  Johnson 
employed  the  Iroquois,  who  from  an  early  period  exacted  allegiance  from  them  as  a 
conquered  people,  to  summon  their  chiefs  before  him.  A  delegation  of  the  principal 
men  of  these  tribes  attended  in  his  council  early  in  the  spring  of  1758,  to  whom  he 
gave  a  detail  of  the  acts  complained  of,  placing  them  before  them  in  their  just  light, 
and  forewarning  them  of  the  inevitable  consequences  which  would  result  from  a  rep 
etition  of  such  nefarious  acts,  and  that  not  only  Pennsylvania  and  Maryland  but  all 
the  neighboring  colonies  would  be  aroused  against  them.  At  this  council  a  delegation 
of  Nanticokes,  Conoys,  and  Mohikanders  attended,  who  informed  him  that  they  lived 
at  Otsiningo,1  on  the  Susquehanna,  where  his  messengers  would  always  find  them. 

Addressing  these  nomadic  members  of  the  disintegrated  and  fast-decaying 
Algonkin  group,  as  he  did  the  Iroquois  in  the  full  strength  of  their  confederacy, 
Johnson  adopted  a  line  of  argument  and  diplomacy  founded  on  high  principles  of 
national  polity  and  guided  by  a  true  estimate  of  the  Indian  character.  He  frequently 
moved  their  sympathy  by  an  Indian  symbol  where  an  argument  would  have  failed. 
All  causes  of  disaffection,  whether  arising  from  questions  of  trade,  the  encroachments 
of  settlers,  inhuman  murders,  or  any  other  of  the  irregularities  so  common  in  the 
Indian  country,  were  handled  by  him  with  calm  judgment ;  and  good  counsels,  and 
the  most  efficient  practical  remedies,  through  the  means  of  agents,  presents,  and 
money,  were  judiciously  dispensed. 

The  year  1759  was  a  brilliant  period  for  the  British  arms.  Braddock,  Loudoun, 
Shirley,  and  Abercrombie  had  respectively  exercised  their  brief  authority  as  com 
manders  of  the  British  forces  in  America,  and  passed  from  the  stage  of  action,  leaving 
a  clear  field  for  the  induction  of  a  new  military  policy.  Amherst,  if  not  surpassing 
his  predecessors  in  talent  and  energy,  was  at  least  more  fortunate  in  the  disposition 
of  his  forces,  more  successful  in  the  execution  of  his  plans,  and  especially  so  in  the 
selection  of  his  generals.  The  military  spirit  of  the  British  nation  was  roused,  its 
means  were  ample,  and  its  commanders  men  of  the  highest  capacity.  France  was 
about  to  be  subjected  to  a  combined  attack  on  all  her  strongholds  which  would  sur 
pass  anything  previously  attempted.  The  colonial  struggle,  which  had  been  protracted 
through  a  century  and  a  half,  was  about  to  terminate.  Fort  Niagara,  where  La 
Salle  had  first  erected  a  palisade,  and  where  Denonville  had  constructed  a  fortress, 
stood  on  the  narrow  promontory  round  which  the  Niagara  pours  its  waters  into  the 
lower  lake.  It  commanded  the  portage  between  Ontario  and  Erie,  and  controlled 
the  fur-trade  of  the  West.  Here  the  first  successful  onset  was  made  on  July  1,  when 
it  was  regularly  besieged  by  General  Prideaux,  who  was  killed  in  one  of  the  trenches 
while  encouraging  his  men  to  more  active  exertions.  Through  this  casualty  Sir 

1  Now  Binghamton,  New  York. 


FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND  AND    THE  OII10    VALLEY.  201 

William  Johnson  succeeded  to  the  chief  command,  and  vigorously  prosecuted  the 
plans  of  his  predecessor.  Learning  that  reinforcements,  accompanied  by  a  body  of 
Indians  from  the  lakes,  had  entered  the  Niagara  Valley  and  were  marching  to  the 
relief  of  the  fort,  he  sent  against  them  a  detachment  of  troops,  together  with  a  large 
force  of  Iroquois,  who  valiantly  met  and  defeated  the  enemy.  He  then  summoned 
the  garrison  to  surrender,  which  ojnmed  the  gates  of  the  fort  on  the  25th  of  July. 
Within  a  week  from  this  time,  Louisburg,  which  had  been  invested  by  Admiral 
Boscawen,  succumbed  to  the  military  prowess  and  heroism  of  General  Wolfe,  who, 
having  been  promoted  for  his  gallantry  in  this  siege,  ascended  the  St.  Lawrence,  and 
by  a  series  of  masterly  movements,  conducted  with  great  intrepidity,  captured  Quebec, 
losing  his  own  life  on  the  Plains  of  Abraham,  where  also  ebbed  out  that  of  his  brave 
and  able  foe,  Montcalm.  The  city  surrendered  on  the  18th  of  September.  De  Lcvi, 
from  the  opposite  point  of  the  river,  vainly  attempted  its  recovery.  In  the  spring 
of  17GO,  General  Murray  followed  De  Levi  up  the  valley  of  the  St.  Lawrence  to 
Montreal,  and  effected  a  landing  at  the  lower  part  of  the  island,  while  General  Am- 
herst  and  a  large  regular  force,  together  with  Sir  William  Johnson  and  his  Iroquois, 
disembarked  at  Lachine.  The  troops  on  the  island  made  no  resistance,  and  with  its 
capture,  on  the  8th  of  September,  the  conquest  of  Canada  was  completed.  The  re 
tention  of  the  colony  by  the  English  was  one  of  the  chief  results  of  the  treaty  of 
peace  soon  after  concluded  between  France  and  England.  The  terras  of  the  capitu 
lation  included  the  smaller  posts  of  Le  Boeuf,  Detroit,  and  Michilimackinac,  which 
were  surrendered  in  the  year  1761. 

By  the  treaty  of  Paris,  concluded  February  10,  1763,  France  renounced  all 
pretensions  to  the  possessions  she  had  claimed  east  of  the  Mississippi,  and  made  over 
the  same  to  Great  Britain.  Spain  about  the  same  time  ceded  Florida  to  England. 

The  ensuing  fifteen  years  of  Indian  history  are  crowded  with  the  records  of 
interesting  events.  The  great  question  among  the  Indian  tribes  had  been,  "  Is  Eng 
land  or  France  to  rule?"  In  a  memorial  to  the  States-General  of  Holland,  dated 
October  12,  1649,  it  is  quaintly  said,  "  The  Indians  are  of  little  consequence." 
Whichever  power  prevailed  was  destined  to  rule  them,  and  the  controversy  was  now 
drawing  to  a  close. 

"  Be  not  any  longer  wheedled,  and  blindfolded,  and  imposed  on,"  said  Sir  Wil 
liam  Johnson  to  the  Iroquois,  "  by  the  artful  speeches  of  the  French,  for  their  tongues 
are  full  of  deceit.  Do  not  imagine  the  fine  clothes,  etc.,  they  give  you  are  out  of  love 
or  regard  for  you ;  no,  they  are  only  as  a  bait  to  catch  a  fish ;  they  mean  to  enslave 
you  thereby,  and  entail  that  curse  upon  you ;  and  your  children  after  you  will  have 
reason  to  repent  the  day  you  begot  them.  Be  assured  they  are  your  inveterate  and 
implacable  enemies,  and  only  wish  for  a  difference  to  arise  between  you  and  us  that 
they  might  put  you  all  out  of  their  way  by  cutting  you  from  the  face  of  the  earth." 

Champlain  founded  the  city  of  Quebec  in  1608,  adopting  the  Algonkin  catch 
word  kebik,  "  take  care  of  the  rock,"1  as  the  appellative  for  the  nucleus  of  the  future 

1  The  waters  of  the  St.  Lawrence  at  ebb  tide  ran  swiftly  against  part  of  the  rocky  shore. 

II— 26 


202  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

empire  of  the  French.  One  hundred  and  fifty-two  years,  marked  by  continual  strife 
and  negotiations,  plots  a'nd  counterplots,  battles  and  massacres,  all  having  for  their 
object  supremacy  .over  the  Indian  tribes,  had  now  passed  away.  Wolfe  and  Mont- 
culm  were  both  dead.  The  empire  of  New  France,  reaching  from  the  St.  Lawrence 
to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  would  thenceforth  have  a  place  only  on  the  page  of  history. 
But  had  the  Indians  derived  any  advantage  from  the  contest  ?  Had  they,  in  fact, 
struggled  for  any  definite  position,  or  had  they  only  fought  on  the  strongest  side, 
anticipating  better  usage,  more  lucrative  trade,  greater  kindness,  or  more  even-handed 
justice  from  one  party  than  was  to  be  obtained  from  the  other  ?  Was  this  hope  well 
defined  and  permanent,  or  did  it  fluctuate  with  every  change  of  fortune,  with  the. 
prowess  of  every  warlike,  or  with  the  tact  of  every  civic,  character  who  trod  the 
field?  Did- they  not  vacillate  with  every  wind, being  steady  only  in  the  preservation 
of  their  chameleon-like  character,  true  when  faithfulness  was  their  only  or  supposed 
interest,  and  false  or  treacherous  when,  as  frequently  happened,  the  current  of  success 
changed  ? 

Two  prominent  races  of  Indian  tribes  existed  in  the  North  and  West  from  the 
earliest  settlement  of  the  colonies, — namely,  the  Algonkins  and  the  Iroquois.  The 
Algonkins  trusted  to  the  French  to  enable  them  to  prevent  the  English  from  occu 
pying  their  lands.  The  Iroquois  looked  to  the  English  for  aid  to  keep  the  French 
off  their  -possessions.  When  the  long  struggle  was  over,  and  the  English  finally 
prevailed,  the  Indian  allies  of  the  French  could  hardly  realize  the  fact.  They  did 
not  think  the  King  of  France  would  give  up  the  contest  after  having  built  so 
many  forts  and  fought  so  many  battles  to  maintain  his  position.  They  discovered, 
however,  that  the  French  had  been  defeated,  and  they  at  length  became  aware  that 
with  their  overthrow  the  Indian  power  in  America  had  departed.  The  tribes  of  the 
far  West  and  North  were  required  to  give  their  assent  to  what  was  done,  which 
they  did  grudgingly.  The  name  of  Saganosh  had  been  so  long  scouted  by  them 
that  it  appeared  to  be  a  great  hardship  to  succumb  to  the  English.  Nadowa,  the 
Algonkin  name  for  Iroquois,  had  also  from  the  earliest  times  been  a  word  of  fearful 
import  to  the  Western  Indians,  and  their  shout  was  sufficient  to  make  the  warriors 
of  the  strongest  villages  fly  to  arms,  while  their  families  hid.  in  swamps  and  fastnesses. 
Both  the  English  and  the  Iroquois  were  now  in  the  ascendant. 

In  a  review  of  the  history  of  this  period  it  will  be  found  that  nine-tenths  of  the 
Western  Indians  were  in  the  French  interest  The  Shawnees,  ever,  during  their 
nomadic  state,  a  vengeful,  restless,  perfidious,  and  cruel  people,  had  left  central  Penn 
sylvania  as  early  as  1755-59,  in  company  with  or  preceding  the  Delawares.  After 
the  defeat  of  Braddock,  and  down  to  the  close  of  Wayne's  campaign  of  1795,  their 
tracks  in  the  Ohio  Valley  had  been  marked  with  blood.  The  Delawares,  during  the 
year  1744  and  subsequently,  were  in  truth  driven  from  central  Pennsylvania,  not  by 
the  Quakers  and  Germans,  but  by  the  fierce  and  indomitable  Scotch-Irish  and  Eng 
lish  settlers.  Unfortunately  for  this  people,  they  had  the  reputation  of  siding  with 
the  French.  After  the  massacre  of  Conestoga,  the  Iroquois,  who  had  once  held  sway 
over  the  whole  course  of  the  Susquehanna,  fled  back  to  Oneida  and  other  kindred 


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FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND  AND   THE  OHIO    VALLEY.  203 

cantons.  That  portion  of  the  Western  Iroquois  who  bore  the  name  of  Mingoes,  and 
were  once  under  the  rule  of  Tanacharisson,  the  half-king,  and  subsequently  of 
Scarooyadi,  were  charged  with  unfriendliness  after  the  stand  taken  by  Logan.  The 
numerous  Miamis,  Piankeshaws,  and  Weas  of  the  Wabash  were  from  the  first 
friendly  to  the  French.  The  Wyandots,  or  Hurons,  of  Sandusky  and  Detroit,  who 
had  been  driven  out  by  the  Iroquois  with  great  fury,  and  who  took  shelter  among 
the  French  and  the  French  Indians,  had  always  been  hostile  to  the  English  colonies. 
The  numerous  and  wide-spread  family  of  the  Chippewas,  Ottawas,  and  Pottawatomies 
had  exerted  a  very  varied  influence  on  the  English  frontiers. 

Turning  our  inquiries  to  the  Illinois  tribes,  had  they  not  from  the  remotest  times 
found  their  worst  foes  in  the  Iroquois?  For  an  answer  consult  La  Salle  and  Mar- 
quette.  The  Peorias,  the  Cahokias,  and  the  Kaskaskias  had  from  the  first  discovery 
of  the  country  dealt  with  French  traders,  and  were  thought  to  be  imbued  with 
French  sympathies.  The  Winnebagocs  of  Green  Bay,  representing  the  bold  prairie 
tribes  of  the  Dakota  stock  west  of  the  Mississippi,  at  all  periods  were  the  friends  of 
the  French.  Intimate  relations  had  been  maintained  with  the  Kickapoos,  and  with 
the  wandering  tribes  of  the  Maskigocs,  by  the  French  missionaries  and  traders. 
Among  all  the  Algonkin  tribes,  the  Foxes  and  the  Sauks,  who  had  in  1712  assailed 
the  French  fort  at  Detroit,  were  the  only  enemies  of  the  French,  and  they  previous 
to  the  conquest  of  Canada  had  been  driven  to  the  Fox  River  of  Wisconsin.  On  the 
west  the  French  were  in  alliance  with  the  Osages,  Missouris,  Kansas,  Quappas,  and 
Caddoes ;  and  on  the  south  with  the  Cherokees,  Choctaws,  and  Muskokis. 

All  the  necessary  arrangements  for  taking  possession  of  the  military  posts  lately 
occupied  by  the  French  were  promptly  and  efficiently  made  by  General  Amherst. 
Niagara  having  been  garrisoned  from  the  time  of  the  conquest,  Major  Robert  Rogers 
was  sent  thence  to  Detroit  in  September,  17GO.  This  detachment  was  followed  by 
Sir  William  Johnson,  the  Superintendent-General  of  Indian  affairs,  who  placed  the 
intercourse  with  the  Indians  on  a  proper  footing.  Rogers  afterwards  proceeded  to 
Michilimackinac,  where  his  proceedings  subjected  him  to  severe  censure.  Forts 
Chartres,  Vincennes,  Presque  Isle,  and  the  other  minor  posts  were  garrisoned  by 
English  troops.  The  Indians  were  still  numerous,  although  they  had  suffered  greatly 
in  the  war.  The  Indian  trade  yet  required  arrangement,  and  the  commanding  offi 
cers  of  these  isolated  Western  posts  at  all  times  had  far  more  need  of  the  counsels  of 
wisdom  than  of  military  strength,  and  required  more  skill  in  the  arts  of  Indian 
diplomacy  than  in  the  active  duties  of  the  field. 

The  country  was  at  that  time  one  vast  forest,  its  Indian  population  so  thinly 
scattered  that  one  might  travel  whole  weeks  without  seeing  a  human  form.  Here 
and  there  in  some  rich  meadow  the  Indian  squaws,  with  their  rude  implements  of 
husbandry,  sowed  their  scanty  stores  of  maize  and  beans.  The  condition  of  the 
Indians  had  not  been  improved  by  contact  with  civilization.  The  Six  Nations  of 
Western  New  York  had  already  begun  to  decline.  Many  of  the  Delawares  were  on 
the  Muskingum,  in  numerous  scattered  towns  and  villages.  Along  the  Scioto  were 
the  lodges  of  the  Shawnees.  To  the  westward,  along  the  banks  of  the  W abash  and 


204  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

the  Maumee,  dwelt  the  Miamis.  The  Illinois,  rained  by  their  love  of  fire-water, 
were  scattered  and  degraded.  The  Wyandot  villages  along  the  Detroit  and  in  the 
vicinity  of  Sandusky  were  the  abodes  of  industry,  and  had  a  neat  and  thrifty 
appearance. 

Scattered  along  the  eastern  seaboard  were  the  English  settlements,  of  which 
Albany,  New  York,  was  far  the  largest  frontier  town.  This  was  the  point  of 
departure  of  the  traders  to  the  Lake  region  or  bound  on  the  hazardous  journey  to 
the  Western  wilderness.  Their  route  lay  up  the  Mohawk  to  Fort  Stanwix,  the  head 
of  river  navigation,  thence  overland  to  Wood  Creek,  carrying  their  canoes.  Em 
barking  here,  they  followed  its  devious  course  until,  at  the  Royal  Block-house,  they  . 
entered  the  Oneida,  which  they  crossed  at  its  western  extremity,  and,  descending  the 
Oswego,  finally  emerged  upon  Lake  Ontario.  From  the  middle  colonies  the  principal 
trail  to  the  Indian  country  was  from  Philadelphia  westward  over  the  Alleghanies 
and  descending  to  the  valley  of  the  Ohio.  No  sooner  had  peace  been  proclaimed 
than  scores  of  adventurous  fur-traders,  transporting  their  merchandise  on  the  backs 
of  horses,  plunged  into  the  forests,  crossing  mountains  and  fording  streams  in  pursuit 
of  gain.  Their  outfit  consisted  of  blankets  and  red  cloth,  guns  and  hatchets,  liquor, 
tobacco,  paint,  beads,  and  hawks'  bills.  In  the  southern  portion  of  the  present  State 
of  Illinois  were  to  be  seen  the  old  French  outposts  Kaskaskia,  Cahokia,  and  Vin- 
cennes.  Farther  up  on  the  Wabash  stood  the  little  village  of  Ouantenon,  whence  a  • 
trail  through  the  forest  led  to  Fort  Miami,  on  the  Maumee,  the  site  of  the  modern 
Fort  Wayne.  From  this  point  the  river  was  the  road  to  Lake  Erie.  Here  Sandusky 
lay  to  the  right,  and  farther  north,  through  the  Strait  of  Detroit,  was  the  fort  of 
that  name.  Farther  east,  beyond  the  Alleghany,  were  Forts  Presque  Isle,  Le  -Boauf, 
and  Venango. 


CHAPTER   V. 

• 

WAR  WITH  THE  CHEROKEES. 

WHILE  these  fundamental  changes  were  taking  place  in  the  relations  and  pros 
pects  of  the  tribes  of  the  North,  those  of  the  South  remained  quiescent,  relying  for 
security  on  the  power  of  the  French.  Either  instigated  by  hostile  counsels,  or 
indulging  their  natural  proclivities  for  rapine  and  murder,  the  Cherokees  of  South 
Carolina  had  committed  several  outrages  on  the  frontier  settlements.  The  folly  and 
arrogance  of  Governor  Lyttlcton  precipitated  an  unnecessary  conflict.  At  the  close 
of  the  year  1759,  having  obtained^from  the  legislature  authority  to  raise  a  large 
body  of  men  with  which  to  bring  the  tribe  to  terms,  he  promptly  marched  into 
the  Cherokee  country  at  the  head  of  eight  hundred  provincials  and  three  hundred 
regular  troops.  This  incursion,  following  as  it  did  upon  a  long  period  of  inactivity 
and  supineness,  so  much  intimidated  and  surprised  the  tribe  that,  being  then  entirely 
unprepared  for  open  war,  they  did  not  hesitate  to  sue  for  peace,  which  was  granted 
them  in  too  much  haste,  without  understanding  the  true  nature  of  the  Indian  char 
acter  and  policy. 

It  has  been  remarked  by  Major  Man  to  that  "  the  Indians  are  of  such  a  disposition 
that  unless  they  really  feel  the  rod  of  chastisement  they  cannot  be  prevailed  on  to 
believe  that  we  have  the  power  to  inflict  it;  and,  accordingly,  whenever  they  hap 
pened  to  be  attacked  by  us,  unprepared,  they  had  recourse  to  a  treaty  of  peace  as  a 
subterfuge,  which  gave  them  time  to  collect  themselves.  Then,  without  the  least 
regard  to  the  bonds  of  public  faith,  they,  on  the  first  opportunity,  renewed  their 
depredations.  Negotiations  and  treaties  of  peace  they  despised,  so  that  the  only 
hopes  to  bring  to  reason  their  intractable  minds,  and  of  making  them  acknowledge 
our  superiority  and  live  in  friendship  with  us,  must  arise  from  the  severity  of 
chastisement."  * 

At  this  time  the  territory  of  the  Cherokees  extended  from  Fort  Ninety-Six,  on 
the  Carolina  frontiers,  and  Fort  Prince  George,  on  the  Keowee  branch  of  the  Savan 
nah,  to  the  main  sources  of  that  river,  and  across  the  Appalachian  chain  to  and 
down  the  Cherokee  or  Tennessee  River  and  its  southern  branches, — a  country  replete 
with  all  the  resources  requisite  in  Indian  life,  possessing  a  delightful  climate,  and 
abounding  in  fertile  sylvan  valleys.  The  tribe  was  accused  of  operating  against  the 
Southern  frontier  under  the  influence  of  the  French,  who  supplied  them  with  arms 
and  ammunition. 

The  treaty  concluded  with  Governor  Lyttleton  refers  to  certain  articles  of  amity 

1  Mante's  History  of  the  Late  War  in  North  America,  p.  289 :  London,  1772. 

205 


200  WE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

and  commerce  entered  into  with  these  people  at  Whitehall,  September  7, 1730,  as 
well  as  to  another  pacification  of  November  19,  1758,  and  then  proceeds  with  the 
precision  of  phraseology  of  the  old  black-letter  lawyers  to  rehearse  grievances  of 
a  later  date,  for  all  of  which  transgressions  the  tribe  stipulate  to  make  amends,  and 
promise  future  good  conduct  They  actually  delivered  up  two  Cherokees  who  had 
committed  murders,  promised  the  surrender  of  twenty  others,  and  gave  twenty  of 
their  principal  chiefs  as  hostages  for  the  due  performance  of  the  terms  of  the  treaty. 
To  this  formal  document  the  great  chief  of  the  nation,  Attakullakulla,  and  five  other 
principal  chiefs,  subsequently  affixed  their  assent  and  guarantee. 

Although  these  hostages  were  envoys  whose  persons  were  by  the  laws  of  savage 
and  civilized  men  sacred,  they  had  been  arrested  and  imprisoned  by  Lyttleton  till 
twenty-four  men  should  be  delivered  up  to  condign  punishment  for  the  murders. 
This  was  an  outrageous  violation  of  plighted  faith,  and  was  felt  by  the  chiefs  to 
be  a  deep  disgrace,  and  one  of  their  number  resolved  to  effect  their  rescue.  This 
treaty,  moreover,  was  not  made  by  chiefs  duly  authorized,  nor  had  it  been  ratified  in 
council,  nor  could  Indian  usage  give  effect  to  its  conditions. 

Lyttleton  had  scarcely  returned  home,  when  the  Cherokees  renewed  their  ravages. 
They  attacked  with  great  fury  the  settlement  of  Long  Cane,  sparing  neither  planter, 
cattle,  buildings,  women,  nor  children.  They  were  particularly  severe  on  English 
traders.  This  attack  was  repeated  by  a  party  of  two  hundred  warriors,  who  extended 
their  depredations  to  the  forks  of  the  Broad  River,  where  they  surprised  and  killed 
forty  men.  Inspirited  by  their  success,  they  made  an  attack  on  Ninety-Six,  but, 
the  fort  proving  too  strong,  they  proceeded  to  the  Congaree,  spreading  devastation 
by  fire  and  sword.  Lyttleton,  on  the  receipt  of  the  earliest  news  of  these  irruptions, 
sent  an  express  to  General  Amherst  asking  for  reinforcements. 

On  the  18th  of  February,  17GO,  the  Cherokees  assembled  around  Fort  Prince 
George,  on  the  Keowee,  and  attempted  to  surprise  it.  While  the  garrison  was  gazing 
at  the  force  from  the  ramparts,  a  noted  chief,  called  Oconostata,  approached,  and 
desired  to  speak  to  Lieutenant  Coytmore,  the  commandant,  who  agreed  to  meet  him 
on  the  banks  of  the  Keowee  River,  whither  he  was  accompanied  by  Ensign  Bell  and 
Mr.  Coharty,  the  interpreter.  Oconostata  said  he  wished  to  go  down  and  see  the 
governor,  and  requested  that  a  white  man  might  be  allowed  to  accompany  him. 
This  request  being  assented  to,  he  said  to  an  Indian,  "  Go  and  catch  a  horse  for  me." 
This  was  objected  to,  whereupon  the  chief  carelessly  swung  a  bridle  which  he  held 
three  times  around  his  head.  This  being  a  secret  signal  to  men  lying  concealed,  a 
volley  was  instantly  poured  in,  which  mortally  wounded  Coytmore,  who  received  a 
tall  in  his  breast,  and  inflicted  deep  flesh-wounds  on  the  others. 

This  treachery  aroused  the  indignation  of  Ensign  Miln,  commanding  the  garrison 
of  the  fort,  who  determined  to  put  the  twenty  Cherokee  hostages,  and  also  the  two 
murderers,  in  irons.  But  the  first  attempt  to  seize  the  assassins  was  instantly  resisted ; 
the  soldier  who  was  deputed  to  effect  it  was  tomahawked  and  killed,  and  another  was 
wounded.  This  so  exasperated  those  within  the  fort  that  all  the  hostages  were 
immediately  put  to  death.  The  enraged  savages  at  once  devastated  the  Carolina 


FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND  AND    THE  OHIO    VALLEY.  207 

frontier.  Men,  women,  and  children  were  butchered,  and  the  war-belt  was  sent  to 
the  Catawbas  and  other  tribes,  inviting  them  to  their  aid  in  exterminating  the  Eng 
lish.  In  the  evening  the  Indians  fired  two  signal-guns  before  the  fort,  and,  being 
ignorant  of  the  manner  in  which  the  hostages  had  been  disposed  of,  shouted  to 
them,  "  Fight  strong,  and  you  shall  be  aided."  The  works  were  then  invested,  and 
an  irregular  fire  maintained  all  night,  with  but  little  effect,  however.  On  searching 
the  room  which  had  been  occupied  by  the  hostages,  several  tomahawks  were  found 
buried  in  the  ground,  which  had  been  stealthily  conveyed  to  the  prisoners  by  their 
visiting  friends. 

Meantime,  Amherst,  immediately  on  the  receipt  of  Governor  Lyttleton's  express, 
had  despatched  to  his  relief  six  hundred  Highlanders,  and  an  equal  number  of  Eng 
lish  soldiers,  under  Colonel  Montgomery,  afterwards  Earl  of  Eglinton.  On  reaching 
Charleston,  Montgomery  immediately  took  the  field.  The  celerity  of  his  movements 
against  the  Cherokees  took  them  completely  by  surprise.  On  the  2Gth  of  May  he 
reached  Fort  Ninety-Six,  and  on  June  1  passed  the  Twelve-Mile  Branch  of  the 
Keowee  with  his  baggage  and  stores,  and,  conveying  them  up  amazingly  rocky  steeps, 
he  pushed  on  night  and  day,  marching  eighty-four  miles  before  taking  a  night's  rest. 
Having  progressed  forty  miles  farther,  he  constructed  a  camp  on  an  eligible  site,  and, 
leaving  his  wagons  and  cattle,  with  his  tents  standing,  under  a  suitable  guard  of 
provincials  and  rangers,  he  took  the  rest  of  his  troops  lightly  armed  and  directed 
his  course  towards  the  Cherokee  towns.  Thus  far  his  scouts  had  discovered  no  enemy 
and  his  rapid  advance  had  been  unheralded.  His  first  object  was  to  attack  Estatoe, 
a  town  some  twenty-five  miles  in  advance,  and  for  this  purpose  he  set  out  at  eight 
o'clock  in  the  evening.  After  marching  sixteen  miles,  he  heard  a  dog  bark  on  the 
left,  at  the  town  of  Little  Keowee,  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  road,  of  the 
location  of  which  his  guides  had  not  informed  him.  He  immediately  detached  a 
force  with  orders  to  surround  it  and  to  bayonet  every  man,  but  to  spare  the  women 
and  children.  This  order  was  strictly  executed ;  the  men  being  found  encamped 
outside  the  houses  were  killed,  and  their  families  captured  unharmed.  In  the  mean 
time  the  main  force  marched  forward  to  Estatoe,  in  which  they  found  but  ten  or  twelve 
men,  who  were  killed.  This  town  comprised  about  two  hundred  houses,  which  were 
well  supplied  with  provisions  and  ammunition.  Montgomery,  determining  to  make 
the  nation  feel  the  power  of  the  colonies,  immediately  attacked  the  other  towns  in 
succession,  until  every  one  in  the  lower  nation  had  been  visited  and  destroyed. 
About  seventy  Cherokees  were  killed,  and,  including  the  women  and  children,  forty 
were  taken  prisoners.  Only  four  English  soldiers  were  killed,  and  two  officers 
wounded.  Montgomery  then  returned  to  Fort  Prince  George,  on  the  Keowee,  where 
he  awaited  proposals  of  peace  from  the  Cherokees,  but,  hearing  nothing  from  them, 
he  resolved  to  make  a  second  incursion  into  the  middle  settlements  of  the  nation. 
He  marched  his  army  from  the  fort  on  the  24th  of  June,  and,  using  the  same  despatch 
as  on  the  previous  occasion,  in  three  days  he  reached  the  town  of  Etchowee.  The 
scouts  discovered  three  Indians  as  they  approached  this  place,  and  took  one  of  them 
prisoner,  who  attempted  to  amuse  the  colonel  with  the  tale  of  their  being  ready  to 


208  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

sue  for  peace ;  but  he,  not  crediting  the  story,  marched  cautiously  forward  for  a 
mile,  when  hia  advanced  guard  was  fired  on  from  a  thicket,  and  in  the  rntttc  its 
captain  was  killed.  Montgomery,  hearing  the  firing,  ordered  the  grenadiers  and  light 
infantry  to  advance,  who  steadily  pushed  forward  through  an  ambuscade  of  five 
hundred  Indians,  rousing  them  from  their  coverts.  As  they  reached  more  elevated 
and  Clearer  ground,  the  troops  drove  the  Indians  before  them  at  the  point  of  the 
bayonet.  Placing  himself  at  the  head  of  his  force,  he  proceeded  towards  the  town, 
following  a  narrow  path,  where  it  was  necessary  to  march  in  Indian  file,  the  sur 
rounding  country  being  well  reconnoitred  in  advance  by  his  scouts.  On  reaching 
Etchowee  it  was  found  to  have  been  abandoned.  After  encamping  on  the  open 
plain,  Montgomery  ordered  out  detachments  in  several  directions,  who  performed 
gallant  services,  driving  the  enemy  across  a  river,  killing  some,  and  taking  several 
prisoners,  after  which,  scattering  their  forces,  they  inflicted  upon  the  Indians  a  severe 
chastisement  He  then  returned  to  Charleston  by  way  of  the  fort  on  the  Keowee, 
and  rejoined  Amheret  in  the  North. 

The  Cherokees  being  disposed  to  retaliate  these  severe  irruptions  of  Colonel 
Montgomery,  the  month  of  August  had  not  elapsed  before  they  began  to  give  unmis 
takable  proofs  of  unabated  hostility.  Fort  Prince  George  they  had  found  too  strong 
for  them,  but  the  garrison  of  Fort  Loudoun,  on  the  confines  of  Virginia,  being  reduced 
in  numbers  and  in  great  want  of  provisions,  was  immediately  besieged.  After  sus 
taining  the  siege  until  reduced  to  extremity,  the  commanding  officer,  Demere,  with 
the  concurrence  of  all  his  subordinates,  very  unwisely  surrendered  the  fortification  to 
his  savage  foe,  August  6,  17GO.  The  result  of  this  ill-advised  capitulation  soon 
became  apparent,  the  garrison  and  men  being  ruthlessly  attacked  before  they  had 
•  proceeded  any  distance  from  the  fort,  and  both  officers  and  privates  cruelly  massacred. 
Captain  Stuart  was  the  only  officer  who  escaped,  his  salvation  being  due  to  the 
intervention  of  Attakullakulla  himself,  the  leader  of  the  attacking  party. 

Notwithstanding  the  reduction  of  Canada,  the  Indians  in  remote  districts  still 
continued  their  opposition  to  the  English  power.  This  was  particularly  the  case  with 
the  Cherokees,  whom  French  emissaries  kept  in  constant  excitement,  and  who  con 
tinued  their  hostilities.  Carolina  raised  twelve  hundred  men,  under  Colonel  Henry 
Middleton,  his  subordinates  including  Henry  Laurens,  Francis  Marion,  William 
Moultrie,  Andrew  Pickens,  and  Isaac  Huger,  all  destined  to  become  distinguished 
for  patriotic  service  in  the  coming  Revolution.  Lieutenant-Colonel  James  Grant 
joining  them  with  two  regiments,  and  some  Chickasaw  and  Catawba  Indians  as  allies, 
made  a  force  of  two  thousand  six  hundred  men.  They  reached  Fort  Prince  George 
May  29,  1761.  On  the  10th  of  June,  at  Etchowee,  where  Montgomery  had  fought 
them,  the  Cherokees  were  gathered,  well  supplied  with  arms,  and  presenting  a  for 
midable  front  They  had  the  advantage  of  a  superior  position,  and  for  three  hours 
the  contest  was  severe  and  bloody.  Finally  the  bayonet  was  employed,  and  so 
effectually  that  they  gave  way,  falling  back  inch  by  inch,  until,  completely  over 
powered,  they  fled,  hotly  pursued  by  their  conquerors.  A  large  number  were  slain. 
The  English  loss  was  fifty.  Following  up  his  victory,  Grant  laid  Etchowee  in  ashes ; 


FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND  AND   THE  OHIO    VALLEY.  209 

corn-fields  and  granaries  were  destroyed,  and  the  people  were  driven  to  the  barren 
mountains.     The  spirit  of  the  nation  was  broken,  and,  through  the  venerable  Atta- 
kullakulla,  the  chiefs  humbly  sued  for  peace.     A  treaty  of  amity  was  concluded,  and, 
the  Cherokees  remained  peaceful  until  the  Revolution. 

The  unnecessary  cruelty  shown  by  the  white  man  on  this  and  many  similar 
occasions  is  evident  when  we  consider  that  these  barbarities  exposed  to  the  worst 
privations  of  famine  only  those  portions  of  the  savage  population  who  had  never 
offended,  or  who  were  least  guilty, — the  women  and  children,  the  sick  and  the  aged. 
The  warrior  and  hunter  could  easily  appease  his  hunger  by  procuring  game  from  the 
contiguous  forests,  or  he  could  wander  off  to  remoter  tribes,  resources  not  available  to 
the  weak,  the  helpless,  and  the  old. 

In  October,  1763,  the  French  surrendered  the  post  of  Mobile.  A  congress  of 
the  Southern  tribes — the  Catawbas,  Cherokees,  Creeks,  Chickasawp,  and  Choctawa— 
was  held  at  Augusta,  Georgia,  November  10, 1763,  and  peace  with  the  Indians  of 
the  South  and  Southwest  was  ratified. 


n— 27 


CHAPTER   VL 

CONSPIRACY  OF  PONTIAC— DETROIT  BESIEGED— FRONTIER  POSTS  CAPTURED— 
DALZELK8  DEFEAT— BATTLE  OF  BUSHY  RUN— RELIEF  OF  FORT  PITT— SIEGE 
OF  DETROIT  RAISED. 

OTHER  tribes  besides  the  Cherokees  at  this  time  manifested  dissatisfaction  or 
broke  out  into  open  hostility.  The  Shawnees  and  Delawares  of  the  Ohio  Valley 
had  been  inimical  to  the  colonies  ever  since  their  expulsion  from  Pennsylvania  in 
1759.  The  entire  mass  of  the  Algonkin  tribes  of  the  upper  lakes  and  to  the  west 
of  the  Ohio  deeply  sympathized  with  the  French  in  the  loss  of  Canada.  They 
hoped  that  the  French  flag  would  be  once  more  unfurled  on  the  Western  forts,  and 
this  feeling,  we  are  assured  by  Mante, — a  judicious  historian  of  that  period, — had 
been  fostered  by  the  French,  whose  mode  of  treatment  of  the  Indians  he  at  the  same 
time  commends.  "  For,"  he  continues,  "  it  soon  appeared  that  at  the  very  time  we 
were  representing  the  Indians  to  ourselves  completely  subdued  and  perfectly  obedient 
to  our  power,  they  were  busy  in  planning  the  destruction  not  only  of  our  most  insig 
nificant  and  remote  forts,  but  our  most  important  and  central  settlements."1  Under 
this  impression,  General  Amherst  had  ordered  to  the  West,  to  keep  the  Indians  in 
check,  the  regular  forces  which  had  been  employed  against  Niagara,  Quebec,  and 
Montreal.  Little  more  was  done  in  1761  than  to  supply  garrisons  to  the  forts  at 
Presque  Isle,  Detroit,  and  Michilimackinac,  by  which,  though  the  country  was  occu 
pied,  its  native  inhabitants  were  not  overawed. 

These  log  forts,  with  picketed  enclosures,  situated  at  points  widely  remote  from 
one  another,  were  often  left  dependent  on  the  Indians  for  supplies,  and  served  only  to 
notify  the  red  man  of  the  design  to  occupy  the  country  which  for  ages  had  been  his 
own.  The  small  garrisons  consisted  only  of  an  ensign,  a  sergeant,  and  a  dozen  men. 
To  the  affable  and  temperate  Frenchman  had  succeeded  the  arrogant  Englishman, 
driving  away  their  Catholic  priests,  and  introducing  the  hitherto  prohibited  traffic 
in  rum. 

Fort  Pitt,  the  most  important  post  west  of  the  Alleghanies,  had  been  occupied 
from  the  period  of  its  capture  in  1758,  but,  its  garrison  having  been  reduced  by  the 
Indian  wars  in  the  West,  it  was  on  May  27,  1763,  invested  by  the  Shawnees  and 
Delawares  and  their  confederates.  The  defection  of  the  Western  tribes  was  found 
to  be  very  great,  extending  from  the  Ohio  Valley  to  the  whole  series  of  lakes  and 
throughout  the  valleys  of  the  Illinois,  Miami,  and  Wabash. 

The  plot  was  discovered  in  March  by  the  officer  in  command  at  Miami.    Amherst, 


1  Mante's  History  of  the  Late  War,  pp.  479-81. 
210 


FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND  AND    THE  OHIO    VALLEY.  211 

who  held  the  Indians  in  supreme  contempt,  and  who  had  contributed  to  their  alien 
ation  by  his  arbitrary  conduct  towards  them,  while  preparing  reinforcements,  hoped 
the  Indians  would  be  too  sensible  of  their  own  interests  to  conspire  against  the 
English,  and  wished  them  to  know  that  in  his  eyes  they  would  make  "  a  contemptible 
figure ;"  "  yes,"  he  repeated,  "  a  contemptible  figure."  It  was  Amherst's  inhuman 
suggestion  that  for  the  reduction  of  the  disaffected  tribes  the  smallpox  should  be  sent 
among  them.1 

At  this  time  there  was  living  in  the  vicinity  of  Detroit  an  Ottawa  chief  possessing 
more  than  ordinary  intelligence,  ambition,  eloquence,  decision  of  character,  power  of 
combination,  and  great  personal  energy,  named  Pontiac.  In  subtlety  and  craft  he 
was  unsurpassed.*  Pontiac  was  of  middle  height,  with  a  figure  of  remarkable 
symmetry.  His  complexion  was  unusually  dark,  and  his  features,  though  void  of 
regularity,  were  expressive  of  boldness  and  vigor,  which,  united  with  an  habitu 
ally  imperious  and  peremptory  manner,  were  indicative  of  unusual  strength  of  will. 
Major  Rogers  speaks  of  him  in  terms  of  high  praise.  "  He  puts  on,"  he  says,  "  an 
air  of  majesty  and  princely  grandeur,  and  is  greatly  honored  and  revered  by  his 
subjects."  His  conspiracy  was  an  heroic  attempt  to  avert  the  swift  decline  which 
the  conquest  of  Canada  by  England  clearly  foreshadowed  for  his  race.  He  appears 
to  have  been  the  originator  of  this  scheme  of  a  Western  confederation  against  the 
English,  for  on  November  7,  17GO,  on  the  first  advance  of  the  relief  of  the  French 
garrison,  when  Major  Rogers,  who  led  the  troops,  had  reached  the  entrance  to  the 
Straits  of  Detroit,  Pontiac  visited  his  encampment,  and,  employing  one  of  those  bold 
metaphors  which  the  Indians  use  to  express  much  in  a  few  words,  assuming  an  air 
of  supremacy,  he  exclaimed,  "  I  stand  in  the  path."  "  To  form  a  just  estimate  of 
his  character,  we  must  judge  him  by  the  circumstances  in  which  he  was  placed ;  by 
the  profound  ignorance  and  barbarism  of  his  people ;  by  his  own  destitution  of  all 
education  and  information ;  and  by  the  jealous,  fierce,  and  intractable  spirit  of  his 
compeers.  When  measured  by  this  standard,  we  shall  find  few  of  the  men  whose 
names  are  familiar  to  us  more  remarkable  for  all  things  proposed  and  achieved  than 
Pontiac."  To  him  the  conduct  of  the  plot  had  been  left.  It  had  been  secretly  dis 
cussed  in  their  councils  for  about  two  years,  during  which  time  he  brought  the 
principal  tribes  of  the  region  into  the  scheme.  While  the  treaty  of  peace  between 
France,  England,  and  Spain  was  being  signed  at  Paris,  February  10,  1763,  the 
Indian  tribes  were  preparing  for  immediate  action.  The  tribes  which  formed  the 
nucleus  of  this  plot  were  the  Ottawas,  Chippewas,  Pottawatomies,  and  the  two  bands 
of  Hurons  residing  on  the  river  Detroit.  From  facts  gleaned  after  the  submis 
sion  of  the  tribes  to  General  Bradstreet,  in  1764,  it  appears  that  this  combination 
was  more  extensive  than  had  been  supposed,  and  that  the  Miamis,  Piankeshaws, 
Weas,  Senccas,  and  several  tribes  of  the  Lower  Mississippi  had  also  been  compro- 
mitted.  The  remaining  tribes  of  the  Iroquois  were  kept  quiet  by  the  strenuous 

1  Amhcnt  to  Bouquet :  Parkman's  Conspiracy  of  Pontiac,  ii.  29. 
'  Parkman's  Conspiracy  of  Pontiac,  L  202. 


212  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

efforts  of  Sir  William  Johnson.  The  time  appointed  for  a  general  rising  having 
arrived,  the  whole  line  of  posts  on  that  frontier,  comprising  twelve  in  number, 
extending  from  Forts  Pitt  and  Niagara  to  Green  Bay,  were  simultaneously  attacked, 
and,  either  by  open  force  or  by  finesse,  nine  of  them  taken.  The  most  singular  mode 
of  attack  among  the  whole  was  that  practised  at  Fort  Michilimackinac.  The  fortress 
at  that  period  occupied  the  apex  of  the  peninsula  of  Michigan,  where  it  juts  out  into 
the  strait  in  a  headland  (called  Piqutinong).  It  consisted  of  a  square  area,  having 
bastions  built  of  stone,  surrounded  with  pickets,  which  were  closed  by  gates,  and 
was  capable  of  being  defended  by  its  garrison  of  thirty-five  men  against  any  attack. 
But  stratagem  was  resorted  to.  The  king's  birthday  (June  4)  having  arrived,  the 
Ojibwas  and  their  confederates  engaged  in  a  game  of  ball,  the  most  exciting  sport  of 
the  red  man,  on  the  level  boulevard  which  led  from  the  landing  up  by  the  fort  into 
the  village.  The  gates  were  open,  and  the  discipline  of  the  garrison  was  relaxed. 
The  squaws  had  entered  the  fort  and  remained  there.  Etherington,  the  commandant, 
with  one  of  his  lieutenants,  stood  unsuspectingly  outside  the  gate,  watching  the  game. 
It  had  lasted  some  hours,  when,  throwing  the  ball  close  to  the  gate,  they  seized  the 
two  officers  and  carried  them  into  the  woods,  while  the  rest  rushed  into  the  fort, 
grasped  their  hatchets  which  their  squaws  had  hidden  under  their  blankets,  and  in  a 
moment  killed  an  officer,  a  trader,  and  fifteen  men.  The  rest  of  the  garrison  and 
all  the  English  traders  were  made  prisoners,  and  robbed  of  all  they  possessed.  The 
tomahawk  was  applied  so  rapidly  that  not  a  drum  was  beaten  or  a  rank  formed,  and 
the  place  became  the  scene  of  one  of  the  most  startling  massacres;  but  of  three 
hundred  Canadians  in  the  fort  not  one  was  molested. 

Detroit  was  selected  by  Pontiac  for  the  display  of  his  own  arts  of  siege  and  attack. 
.  The  fort  was  under  the  command  of  Major  Gladwyn,  who  had  a  garrison  of  two 
complete  companies  of  infantry,  numbering  one  hundred  and  twenty-two  privates 
and  eight  officers.  There  were  also  within  its  walls  forty  French  traders  and  enga- 
g£a.  The  fort  was  a  large  stockade,  about  twenty  feet  high  and  twelve  hundred 
yards  in  circumference,  standing  within  the  limits  of  the  present  city,  on  the  river- 
bank,  commanding  an  extensive  prospect  above  and  below.  Its  three  pieces  of  artil 
lery  and  three  mortars  were  of  small  calibre,  and  so  badly  mounted  as  to  be  useless. 
Two  armed  vessels  lay  in  the  river.  Detroit  was  the  largest  of  the  inland  settle 
ments,  its  climate  and  fertility  attracting  alike  the  white  man  and  the  savage.  Both 
banks  of  the  river  were  occupied  by  a  numerous  French  population,  dwelling  upon 
productive  farms,  "  indolent  in  the  midst  of  plenty,  graziers  as  well  as  tillers  of  the 
soil,  and  enriched  by  Indian  traffic."1  The  Pottawatomies  dwelt  about  a  mile  below 
the  fort,  the  Wyaudota  a  little  lower  down  on  the  east  side  of  the  strait,  and  five 
miles  higher  up,  on  the  same  side,  the  Ottawas.  Pontiac  invested  the  place  May  9, 
1763,  with  a  total  force  of  four  hundred  and  fifty  warriors,  who  had  been  instructed 
at  the  councils,  drilled  under  his  own  eye,  and  painted  and  feathered  for  battle.  But 
an  attack  was  not  his  first  move ;  he  aimed  to  take  the  fort  by  a  deeply -laid  plot, 

1  Parkman. 


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FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND  AND   THE  OHIO    VALLEY.  213 

which  was  in  effect  to  visit  the  commandant  at  his  quarters,  accompanied  by  a  limited 
number  of  warriors  bearing  concealed  weapons,  to  smoke  with  him  the  pipe  of  peace, 
and  to  present  him  with  a  formal  address,  which  was  to  be  accompanied  by  a  belt  of 
wampum,  the  most  solemn  and  honored  custom  in  Indian  diplomacy.  This  belt  was 
worked  on  one  side  with  white  and  on  the  other  with  green  beads.  Having  finished 
his  speech  with  the  white  side  turned  towards  his  auditor,  the  reversal  of  it  in  his 
hands  to  the  green  side  was  to  be  the  signal  of  attack.  The  plan  was  well  devised, 
and  must  have  succeeded  had  it  not  been  revealed  to  the  commandant  on  the 
previous  evening. 

On  the  day  appointed,  Pontiac  appeared  at  the  gates  with  his  three  hundred 
aboriginal  fellow-conspirators,  demanding  an  audience.  He  was  freely  admitted,  but 
in  passing  the  esplanade  observed  an  unusual  display  of  the  military.  The  garrison 
was  under  arms,  and  the  sentinels  doubled,  a  circumstance  which  aroused  Pontiac's 
fears,  but  his  covert  inquiries  were  met  by  a  ready  answer  that  "  it  was  to  keep  the 
young  men1  to  their  duty,  and  prevent  idleness."  The  language  employed  by  one 
who  has  collated  the  local  traditions  on  the  subject  while  they  were  still  within  reach 
may  here  be  quoted.  "  The  business  of  the  council  then  commenced,  and  Pontiac 
proceeded  to  address  Major  Gladwyn.  His  speech  was  bold  and  menacing,  and  his 
manner  and  gesticulations  vehement,  and  they  became  still  more  so  as  he  approached 
the  critical  moment.  When  he  was  on  the  point  of  presenting  the  belt  to  Major 
Gladwyn  (and  turning  it  in  his  hands),  and  all  was  breathless  expectation,  the  drums 
at  the  door  of  the  council  suddenly  rolled  the  charge,  the  guards  levelled  their  pieces, 
and  the  officers  drew  their  swords  from  their  scabbards.  Pontiac  was  a  brave  man, 
constitutionally  and  habitually.  He  had  fought  in  many  a  battle,  and  often  led  his 
warriors  to  victory.  But  this  unexpected  and  decisive  proof  that  his  treachery  was 
discovered  and  prevented,  entirely  disconcerted  him.  Tradition  says  he  trembled. 
At  all  events,  he  delivered  his  belt  in  the  usual  manner,  and  thus  failed  to  give  his 
warriors  the  concerted  signal  of  attack.  Major  Gladwyn  immediately  approached 
the  chief,  and,  drawing  aside  his  blanket,  discovered  the  shortened  rifle,  and  then, 
after  stating  his  knowledge  of  the  plan,  turned  him  out  of  the  fort,  and,  unwisely 
perhaps,  permitted  him  to  make  his  escape." 

Foiled  in  his  attempt  to  take  the  garrison  by  stratagem,  Pontiac  commenced  an 
open  attack,  and  his  followers  began  to  assail  the  scattered  English  settlers  in  its 
vicinity,  while  on  every  side  could  be  heard  the  startling  sassaquon,  or  war-whoop. 
A  widow  and  her  two  sons  were  immediately  murdered  on  the  common.  A  dis 
charged  sergeant  and  his  family,  cultivating  lands  on  Hog  Island,  were  the  next 
victims.  Taking  shelter  behind  buildings  contiguous  to  the  fort,  an  incessant  fire  was 
maintained  against  it,  which  was  continued  for  several  days,  blazing  arrows  being 
discharged  by  the  Indians,  which  set  fire  to  some  buildings  within  the  walls.  Deter 
mination  of  purpose  marked  every  act,  while  the  savage  yells  of  the  natives,  and  the 
continual  reports  of  murders  and  outrages,  filled  the  garrison  with  apprehensions. 

1  "  Young  men,"  with  the  Indians,  in  an  equivalent  phrase  for  warrior*,  when  speaking  on  such  topic*. 


214  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

The  abandonment  of  the  fort  and  embarkation  of  the  troops  for  Niagara  was  con 
templated,  bat  the  plan  was  opposed  by  the  prominent  French  inhabitants,  who  were 
better  acquainted  with  the  true  character  of  Indian  demonstration  and  bluster,  and 
particularly  with  the  real  dangers  of  such  a  voyage.  A  small  vessel  was,  however, 
despatched  to  Niagara  on  the  21st  of  May,  soliciting  aid  both  in  provisions  and  men 
through  a  country  entirely  occupied  by  Indians.  The  Indians  unabatedly  continued 
their  attacks,  absolutely  confining  the  garrison  within  the  walls,  and  preventing  them 
from  obtaining  supplies  of  wood  and  water.  Pontiac  meantime  conceived  the  idea 
of  decoying  Major  Campbell  into  his  camp  under  the  pretence  of  renewing  pacific 
negotiations.  This  gentleman  was  favorably  known  to  the  Indians  as  the  immediate 
predecessor  of  Major  Gladwyn,  who  had  but  recently  relieved  him  in  the  command 
of  the  fort.  By  the  advice  of  those  most  conversant  with  the  Indian  character, 
Pontiac's  request  was  acceded  to,  and  Major  Campbell  went  to  his  camp,  accompanied 
by  Lieutenant  McDougal.  But  all  the  projects  of  Pontiac  were  set  at  naught  by  an 
unforeseen  occurrence.  In  one  of  the  sorties  from  the  fort  an  Ottawa  of  distinction 
from  Michilimackinac  had  been  killed,  and  his  nephew,  who  was  present,  determined 
to  avenge  his  death.  Meeting  Major  Campbell  one  day,  as  he  was  walking  in  the 
road  near  the  camp  of  Pontiac,  the  savage  immediately  felled  him  to  the  earth  with 
his  war-club,  and  killed  him.  This  act  was  regretted  and  disavowed  by  Pontiac, 
who,  by  the  detention  of  Major  Campbell,  sought  only  to  secure  ulterior  advantages 
through  the  person  of  his  hostage. 

On  the  16th  of  May  some  Hurons  and  Ottawas  presented  themselves  at  the  gate 
of  the  fort  at  Sandusky.  Ensign  Paulli,  the  commander,  ordered  seven  of  them,  as 
old  acquaintances  and  friends,  to  be  admitted.  At  a  given  signal,  as  they  sat 
smoking,  Paulli  was  seized  and  bound.  As  he  was  borne  from  the  room  he  saw  the 
dead  bodies  of  his  massacred  garrison  lying  wherever  they  had  happened  to  fall. 
The  traders  were  also  killed,  their  stores  plundered,  and  the  fort  burned.  Paulli 
was  taken  to  Detroit,  whence  he  afterwards  escaped. 

At  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Joseph's,  accessible  only  to  boats  around  the  promontory 
of  Michigan,  a  Jesuit  mission  had,  at  the  conquest  of  Canada,  given  place  to  an 
English  ensign,  with  a  garrison  of  fourteen  soldiers  and  some  traders.  On  the 
morning  of  May  25,  a  party  of  Pottawatomies  approached  the  fort  and  were 
admitted.  Suddenly  a  cry  was  heard  in  the  barracks,  Schlosser,  the  commanding 
officer,  was  seized,  and  the  garrison — excepting  three  men — were  massacred.  The 
survivors  were  taken  to  Detroit  and  exchanged. 

In  the  forest  near  Fort  Wayne  stood  Fort  Miami,  garrisoned  also  by  an  ensign 
and  a  few  soldiers.  On  May  27,  Holmes,  its  commander,  was  informed  that  Detroit 
had  been  attacked,  and  communicated  the  intelligence  to  his  men.  An  Indian 
woman  pretending  that  a  squaw  in  a  neighboring  cabin  was  ill  and  required  to  be 
bled,  he  went  on  the  errand  of  mercy,  a^d  was  shot  The  sergeant  following  was 
taken  prisoner,  and  the  soldiers — nine  in  number — surrendered. 

Fort  Ouantanon,  just  below  Lafayette,  Indiana,  fell  on  the  1st  of  June.  Its 
commander  having  been  lured  into  an  Indian  cabin  and  bound,  his  men  surrendered. 


FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND  AND   THE  OHIO    VALLEY.  215 

The  prisoners  were  received  into  the  houses  of  the  French,  who  had  procured  the 
favor  by  gifts  of  wampum  to  the  victors. 

The  fort  at  Presque  Isle,  now  Erie,  was  the  point  of  communication  between 
Pittsburg  and  Niagara  and  Detroit.  It  was  garrisoned  by  twenty-four  men,  was 
quite  tenable,  and  could  easily  have  been  relieved.  Nevertheless,  Ensign  Christy, 
after  two  days'  defence,  overcome  with  terror,  surrendered  ou  June  22. 

Le  Boeuf,  attacked  on  the  18th,  kept  the  foe  at  bay  until  midnight,  when  the 
block-house  was  set  on  fire.  The  brave  commander  escaped  with  his  garrison  to  the 
woods.  On  their  way  to  Fort  Pitt  the  fugitives  passed  the  ruins  of  Venango.  No 
living  soul  had  escaped  to  tell  its  fate. 

The  fury  of  the  savages  was  not  limited  to  the  attack  of  stockades.  They  mas 
sacred  and  scalped  more  than  one  hundred  traders,  murdered  husbandmen  and 
laborers  in  the  field,  and  did  not  spare  even  the  children  in  the  cradle.  They 
menaced  Fort  Ligonier,  and,  passing  the  Alleghauies,  carried  devastation  as  far  as 
Bedford.  For  hundreds  of  miles  from  north  to  south,  houses,  cattle,  and  other  prop 
erty  were  destroyed,  and  a  thrifty  population  was  suddenly  reduced  to  beggary  and 
despair.  Two  thousand  persons  were  killed  or  carried  off,  and  nearly  as  many 
families  were  driven  from  their  homes. 

Anticipating  succors  to  be  on  their  way  to  Detroit,  the  Indians  kept  vigilant 
watch  at  the  mouth  of  the  river.  This  duty  appears  to  have  been  committed  to  the 
Wyandots.  Towards  the  end  of  May  a  detachment  of  troops  from  Niagara,  having 
charge  of  twenty-three  bateaux  laden  with  provisions  and  supplies,  encamped  at 
Point  Peloe,  on  the  north  shore,  near  the  head  of  Lake  Erie,  wholly  unconscious 
that  any  danger  awaited  them.  Their  movements  had,  however,  been  closely  recon 
noitred  by  the  Indian?,  who,  having  formed  an  ambuscade  at  this  place,  furiously 
attacked  them  near  daybreak.  During  the  resulting  panic,  the  officer  in  command 
leaped  into  a  boat,  and,  accompanied  by  thirty  men,  crossed  the  lake  to  Sandusky. 
The  rest  of  the  detachment  were  killed  or  taken  prisoners,  and  all  the  stores  fell  into 
the  enemy's  hands.  The  prisoners  were  reserved  to  row  the  boats.  On  the  30th  of 
May  the  first  of  the  long  line  of  bateaux  was  seen  from  the  fort  as  it  rounded  Point 
Huron,  on  the  Canada  shore.  The  garrison  crowded  the  ramparts  to  view  the 
welcome  sight,  and  a  gun  was  fired  as  a  signal  to  their  supposed  approaching  friends. 
But  the  only  response  was  the  gloomy  war-cry.  As  the  first  boat  came  opposite  to 
the  little  vessel  anchored  off  the  fort,  the  soldiers  rowing  it  determined  to  recapture 
it.  While  the  steersman  headed  the  boat  across,  another  soldier  threw  overboard  the 
Indian  who  sat  on  the  bow.  In  the  struggle  both  were  drowned,  but  the  boat  was 
rowed  under  the  guns  of  the  fort.  Lest  the  other  captive  rowers  should  imitate 
this  example,  they  were  lauded  by  the  Indians  on  Hog  Island,  and  immediately 
massacred. 

News  of  the  treaty  of  peace  concluded  at  Versailles  February  10,  1763,  between 
France  and  England,  reached  Detroit  on  the  3d  of  June,  while  these  events  were  in 
progress.  From  the  French  who  were  assembled  on  this  occasion  the  intelligence 
received  a  full  and  prompt  acquiescence,  as  a  conclusive  sovereign  act,  but  the 


216  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THK  UNITED  STATES. 

Indiana  continued  the  siege.  Pontiac,  finding  he  could  not  take  the  fort,  proposed  to 
the  French  inhabitants  to  aid  him,  but  they  refused.  About  this  time  the  vessel 
which  had  been  despatched  to  Niagara  by  Major  Gladwyn  arrived  at  the  mouth  of 
the  river  with  supplies  and  some  sixty  men.  The  winds  being  light  and  baffling, 
the  Indians  determined  to  capture  her,  and  a  large  force  left  the  siege  and  proceeded 
to  Fighting  Island  for  that  purpose.  While  the  vessel  was  lying  at  the  mouth  of 
the  river  the  Indians  had  endeavored  to  annoy  her  by  means  of  their  canoes,  but  the 
wind  had  forced  her  to  shift  her  anchorage  to  this  spot  The  captain  had  ordered 
his  men  below  decks,  to  keep  the  Indians  in  ignorance  of  his  strength,  having  apprised 
them  that  a  loud  stroke  of  a  hammer  on  the  mast  would  be  a  signal  for  them  to  come 
up.  As  soon  as  night  fell,  the  Indians  came  off  in  their  canoes  in  great  force,  and 
attempted  to  board  her,  but  a  sudden  discharge  of  her  guns  disconcerted  them.  The 
following  day  the  vessel  dropped  down  to  the  mouth  of  the  straits,  where  she  was 
detained  six  days  by  calms.  Meantime,  Pontiac,  determining  to  destroy  her,  floated 
down  burning  rafts,  constructed  of  the  timbers  from  barns  destroyed  by  the  Indians, 
dry  pine,  and  a  quantity  of  pitch  added  to  make  the  whole  more  combustible.  Not 
withstanding  two  such  rafts  were  sent  down  the  river,  the  vessel  and  boats  escaped 
them.  A  breeze  springing  up  on  the  30th  of  June,  the  vessel  was  enabled  to  hoist 
sail,  and  reached  the  fort  in  safety. 

General  Amherst,  the  commander-in-chief,  was  fully  sensible  of  the  perilous 
position  of  the  Western  posts  in  consequence  of  the  Indian  hostility,  and,  though 
weakened  by  the  force  withdrawn  for  the  Indian  war  in  the  West,  prepared  to  send 
at  the  earliest  period  reinforcements  to  Forts  Pitt,  Niagara,  and  Detroit  The  relief 
destined  for  the  latter  post  was  placed  under  the  orders  of  his  secretary,  Captain 
Dalzell,  who,  after  relieving  Niagara,  proceeded  to  Detroit  in  armed  bateaux,  at  the 
head  of  a  force  of  three  hundred  men.  To  the  joy  of  all  concerned,  this  reinforce 
ment  arrived  at  Detroit  on  the  29th  of  July,  when  the  place  had  been  besieged 
upwards  of  fifty  days.  Captain  Dalzell,  who  brought  this  timely  accession  to  the 
garrison,  proposed  a  night  assault  on  Pontiac's  camp,  which  the  commandant  assented 
to,  although  with  some  misgivings.  Two  hundred  and  fifty  men  were  selected  for 
this  duty,  and  with  this  force  Captain  Dalzell  left  the  fort  as  secretly  as  possible  at 
half-past  two  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  31st  At  the  same  time  two  boats 
were  despatched  to  keep  pace  with  the  party  and,  if  necessary,  take  off  the  wounded. 
The  darkness  of  the  night  rendered  it  somewhat  difficult  to  discern  the  way,  and  made 
it  impossible  to  keep  the  proper  distance  between  the  platoons.  After  marching 
about  two  miles,  when  the  vanguard  had  reached  the  bridge  over  the  stream  which 
has  since  been  known  as  Bloody  Run,  a  sudden  fire  was  poured  in  by  the  Indians, 
creating  a  temporary  panic  among  the  troops,  from  which,  however,  they  soon 
recovered.  The  intense  darkness  completely  obscuring  the  enemy,  a  retreat  was 
ordered,  when  it  appeared  that  there  was  a  heavy  force  in  the  rear,  through  which 
the  column  had  been  allowed  to  pass.  The  English  were,  in  fact,  in  the  midst  of  a 
well-planned  ambuscade.  Dalzell  displayed  the  utmost  bravery  and  spirit  in  this 
emergency,  but  was  soon  shot  down  and  killed.  Grant,  on  whom  the  command 


FRAXCE  AND  ENGLAND  AND   THE  OHIO    VALLEY.  217 

devolved,  was  severely  wounded.  The  Indians  were  concealed  behind  the  wooden 
picketing  which  lined  the  fields  and  sheltered  the  buildings  of  the  habitans;  but  as 
the  day  began  to  dawn  the  troops  were  enabled  to  discern  their  perilous  position. 
They  then  embarked  some  of  their  wounded  in  the  boats  which  had  accom 
panied  them,  and,  concentrating  their  forces,  retreated  towards  the  gates  of  the 
fort,  which  they  entered  in  compact  order.  The  loss  in  this  attack  was  fifty-nine 
killed  and  wounded,  being  nearly  one-fourth  of  the  sallying  party.  It  was  a  decided 
triumph  for  the  Indians,  who  thenceforth  pressed  the  siege  with  renewed  vigor. 

As  the  season  for  hunting  approached,  the  Indians  gradually  dispersed,  the  siege 
languished,  and  was  finally  abandoned.  There  is  no  previous  record  in  Indian 
history  of  so  large  a  force  of  Indians  having  been  kept  in  the  field  for  so  long  a 
period ;  and  this  effort  of  the  Algonkin  chief  to  roll  back  the  tide  of  European 
emigration  was  the  most  formidable  that  was  ever  made  by  any  member  of  the 
Indian  race.  Rogers  styles  Pontiac  an  emperor.  He  certainly  possessed  an  energy 
of  mind  and  powers  of  combination  equalling  those  of  any  other  chief  of  his  race. 
Opechancanough  possessed  great  firmness,  and  was  a  bitter  enemy  of  the  white  race, 
Sassacus  fought  for  tribal  rights  and  supremacy,  the  course  of  Uncas  was  that  of  a 
politician,  Pometakom  battled  to  repel  the  people  whose  education,  industry,  and 
religion  foredoomed  his  own ;  but  Pontiac  took  a  more  enlarged  and  comprehensive 
view,  not  only  of  the  field  of  contest,  but  also  of  the  means  necessary  for  the  reten 
tion  and  preservation  of  the  aboriginal  dominion.  At  a  later  period,  Brant  merely 
fought  for  and  under  the  direction  of-a  powerful  ally,  and  Tecumseh  but  re-enacted 
the  deeds  of  Pontiac  after  the  lapse  of  fifty  years,  when  the  scheme  of  repelling  the 
whites  was  preposterous.  ^^ 

The  struggle  of  the  Indians,  in  conjunction  with  the  French,  for  supremacy 
in  America,  may  be  said  to  have  commenced  in  1753,  when  Washington  first 
originated  the  idea  among  the  Western  tribes  that  the  Virginians  were  taking  pre 
liminary  steps  to  cross  the  Alleghanies,  the  limit  of  the  English  settlements,  and 
open  the  route  for  the  influx  of  the  entire  European  race.  This  notion  may  be 
perceived  in  the  addresses  of  Pontiac.  "  Why,"  he  exclaimed,  repeating,  as  he 
alleged,  the  words  of  the  Master  of  Life,  "  why  do  you  suffer  these  dogs  in  red 
clothing  to  take  the  land  I  gave  you  ?  Drive  them  from  it,  and  when  you  are  in 
distress  I  will  help  you."  The  policy  of  driving  back  the  English  accorded  well 
with  the  views  of  the  French,  who  carefully  encouraged  it,  and  first  developed  it  at 
the  repulse  of  Washington  before  Fort  Necessity,  and  gave  to  it  a  new  impetus 
the  following  year  at  Braddock's  defeat,  an  event  which  had  the  effect  of  arousing 
the  passions  of  the  Indians.  From  this  date  they  became  determined  opponents  of 
the  spread  of  British  power,  and  always  formed  a  part  of  the  French  forces  in  the 
field.  Such  was  their  position  under  Montcalm,  at  Lake  George,  in  1757,  and  also 
at  the  sanguinary  defeat  of  Major  Grant  in  1758.  The  epoch  for  making  this 
struggle  could  not  have  been  better  chosen  had  they  even  l»een  perfectly  conversant 
with  the  French  and  English  policy,  and  the  result  was  ten  years  of  the  most 
troublesome  Indian  wars  with  which  the  colonies  were  ever  afflicted.  As  time  pro- 

n— 28 


218  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

m 

greased,  it  became  evident  that  the  long  colonial  struggle  between  the  two  crowns 
most  terminate.  If  the  English  were  defeated,  not  only  the  French  but  the  Indiana 
would  triumph,  while  it  was  equally  true  that  if  the  French  failed  the  Indian  power 
must  succumb.  Pontiac  perfectly  understood  this,  and  so  informed  his  confeder 
ates.  This  question  was  settled  by  the  peace  of  Versailles ;  but  the  Indians  did  not 
feel  disposed  to  drop  the  contest.  Detroit  was  still  closely  invested ;  Fort  Pitt,  built 
by  General  Stanwix,  in  1759,  upon  the  ruins  of  Fort  Du  Quesne,  was  also  be 
leaguered,  and  the  only  road  by  which  relief  could  reach  it  passed  through  dreary 
tracts  of  wilderness  and  over  high  mountains.  It  was  likewise  located  on  a  frontier, 
the  inhabitants  of  which  lived  in  continual  dread  of  the  Indians.  Its  garrison  con 
sisted  of  three  hundred  and  thirty  soldiers,  traders,  and  backwoodsmen.  On  the 
night  of  July  27  the  fort,  which  had  been  besieged  since  the  27th  of  May,  was 
fiercely  attacked,  and  for  five  days  and  nights  a  constant  fire  was  kept  up  from  all 
sides,  though  with  slight  result  Fire-arrows  were  frequently  shot  at  it,  in  the  hope 
of  setting  it  on  fire.  The  guns  of  the  fort  were  effectively  used  until  the  approach 
of  succor  caused  the  Indians  to  decamp. 

General  Amherst  ordered  Colonel  Bouquet  to  relieve  this  post  with  the  remnants 
of  two  regiments  which  had  returned  in  a  feeble  and  shattered  condition  from  the 
siege  of  Havana.  The  route  lay  through  Pennsylvania,  by  way  of  Carlisle  and  Fort 
Bedford,  and  many  discouragements  were  in  the  way.  Troops  and  supplies  came 
forward  slowly.  He  reached  Fort  Bedford  on  the  25th  of  July,  and  thence  pushed 
on  to  Fort  Ligonier,  relieving  that  post  from  a  threatened  siege.  As  soon  as  the 
Indians  who  were  besieging  Fort  Pitt  heard  of  his  approach,  they  left  that  place  and 
prepared  to  oppose  his  march.  Bouquet  had  disencumbered  himself  of  his  wagons, 
.  •  as  also  of  much  heavy  baggage,  at  Fort  Ligonier,  and  moved  on  with  alacrity, 
conveying  his  provisions  on  horses.  On  entering  the  defile  of  Turtle  Creek,  on 
August  5,  his  advance  had  proceeded  but  a  short  distance  when  it  was  briskly 
attacked  on  both  flanks.  A  severe  and  desperate  battle  ensued,  which  admitted  of 
several  manoauvres  and  gave  occasion  for  the  display  of  Bouquet's  gallantry.  Cap 
tains  Graham  and  Mclntosh,  of  the  regulars,  were  killed,  and  five  officers  wounded. 
As  the  day  closed,  an  elevation  was  gained,  on  which  the  troops  bivouacked.  At 
daybreak  the  following  morning  the  Indians  surrounded  the  camp  and  commenced 
a  lively  fusillade,  making  frequent  charges,  and  alternately  attacking  and  retreating. 
This  became  very  annoying  to  the  troops,  who  were  greatly  fatigued  and  destitute 
of  water.  They  fought  in  an  extended  circle.  At  length  the  colonel  resorted  to 
the  ruse  of  withdrawing  two  companies  from  the  outer  line  and  making  a  feint  of 
retreating.  By  this  movement  he  decoyed  the  Indians  into  a  position  where  they 
were  promptly  charged  with  the  bayonet  and  repelled.  Their  retreat  soon  became  a 
rout,  which  involved  a  part  of  the  Indian  forces  hitherto  unengaged. 

This  was  one  of  the  best-contested  actions  ever  fought  between  the  white  man 
and  the  Indian.  The  savages  displayed  the  utmost  intrepidity,  and  the  English 
would  have  been  defeated  had  it  not  been  for  their  coolness  and  the  skilful  conduct 
of  their  officers. 


FRANCE  AND   ENGLAND  AND    THE  OHIO    VALLEY.  219 

Bouquet  then  advanced  to  Bushy  Run,  where  there  was  an  abundance  of  water ; 
but  he  had  hardly  posted  his  troops  when  the  Indians  again  commenced  an  attack, 
which  was,  however,  speedily  repulsed.  The  loss  in  these  actions  amounted  to  fifty 
men  killed  and  sixty  wounded,  almost  one-fourth  of  his  command. 

After  these  battles  the  Indians  did  not  renew  the  siege  of  Fort  Pitt,  but  withdrew 
beyond  the  Ohio,  and  four  days  subsequent  to  the  action  at  Bushy  Run  Bouquet 
entered  Fort  Pitt. 

Meantime,  the  Indians  were  still  closely  besieging  Detroit,  and  the  garrison  began 
to  suffer  from  fatigue  and  want  of  provisions.  A  vessel,  manned  by  twelve  men  and 
in  charge  of  two  masters,  was  despatched  from  Fort  Niagara  during  the  latter  part 
of  August  with  stores  for  its  relief.  It  reached  the  entrance  to  Detroit  River  on 
the  3d  of  September,  when,  the  wind  being  adverse,  the  crew  dropped  the  anchor. 
About  nine  o'clock  in  the  evening  the  boatswain  discovered  a  fleet  of  canoes  ap 
proaching,  containing  about  three  hundred  and  fifty  Indians.  The  bow  gun  was 
fired,  but  too  late,  as  the  canoes  had  by  this  time  surrounded  the  vessel.  The 
Indians  immediately  cut  the  cable  and  began  to  board  her,  notwithstanding  the  fire 
from  the  small  arms  and  also  from  a  swivel.  The  crew  then  seized  their  pikes,  a 
new  weapon  of  defence  with  which  they  were  provided,  and,  fighting  with  great 
bravery  and  determination,  killed  and  wounded  more  than  twice  their  own  number 
of  the  foe,  who  were  already  leaping  over  her  bulwarks.  Some  of  them  had  gained 
her  deck,  when  Jacobs,  the  mate,  called  out  to  blow  up  the  schooner.  Catching  the 
meaning  of  his  words,  the  Indians  leaped  overboard,  panic-stricken,  to  escape  the 
threatened  explosion.  The  ship  at  the  same  time  swinging  around  enabled  the 
crew  to  use  their  guns  effectively.  The  master  and  one  man  were  killed,  and  four 
men  wounded;  but,  a  breeze  springing  up,  the  other  seamen  hoisted  sail,  and  brought 
the  vessel  safely  to  Detroit  For  this  brave  act  each  of  the  crew  was  presented  with 
a  silver  medal. 

The  garrison  being  thus  provided  with  supplies,  the  further  efforts  of  the  Indians 
proved  of  no  great  consequence.  As  the  season  for  hunting  approached,  the  savages 
mostly  dispersed,  except  some  small  parties  who  watched  the  fort  and  prevented  any 
egress  from  it  Open  war  never  being  carried  on  by  the  Indians  during  the  winter, 
Major  Gladwyn  made  such  a  judicious  disposition  of  his  means  as  prevented  any 
surprise  during  that  season. 

Fort  Niagara  had  not  been  attacked,  although  its  garrison  was  weak ;  but  its 
precincts  were  continually  infested  by  hostile  Indians,  which  made  it  necessary  to 
send  out  large  escorts  with  every  train  despatched  from  it.  To  rid  the  Niagara 
Valley  of  this  annoyance  and  open  the  route  to  Schlosser,  a  detachment  of  ninety 
men  was  directed  to  scour  the  surrounding  country.  Owing  to  the  inconsiderate 
ardor  of  the  officer  in  command,  and  also  to  his  ignorance  of  Indian  subtlety  in 
time  of  war,  the  detachment  was  decoyed  into  an  ambuscade,  in  which  he  and  all 
his  men,  with  the  exception  of  three  or  four,  were  killed. 


CHAPTER    VIL 

EXPEDITIONS  OP  BOUQUET  AND  BRADSTREET— PACIFICATION  OF  THE  TRIBES- 
DEATH  OF  PONTIAC. 

THE  campaign  of  1763  had  the  effect  rather  to  inspire  than  to  depress  the  hopes 
of  the  Indians.  The  English  forces  had  been  withdrawn  to  further  projects  ot 
conquest  in  the  West  Indies,  thus  leaving  but  few  troops  on  the  frontiers.  Forts 
Pitt  and  Detroit  had  for  many  months  been  closely  invested  by  the  tribes,  who 
completely  debarred  ingress  and  egress.  The  determination  evinced  by  the  forces  of 
Pontiac  at  Detroit,  his  attacks  on  the  shipping  sent  to  its  relief,  the  sanguinary 
encounter  at  Bloody  Run,  in  which  Dalzell  was  slain,  and  that  at  Bushy  Run,  where 
Colonel  Bouquet  was  so  actively  opposed,  together  with  the  utter  destruction  of  a 
detachment  of  ninety  men  and  its  officers  on  the  Niagara  portage,  afforded  an  ad 
ditional  stimulus  to  the  efforts  of  the  Indians.  These  successes  not  only  served  to 
innate  the  Indian  pride,  but  likewise  denoted  a  feeble  military  administration  on  the 
part  of  the  British  commander. 

General  Amherst  was  of  opinion  that  more  vigorous  action  and  a  more  compre 
hensive  and  definite  plan  were  required  for  the  campaign  of  1764,  while  at  the  same 
time  the  ministry  had  crippled  his  powers  by  withdrawing  nearly  all  his  regular 
troops.  Under  these  circumstances  he  called  for  aid  from  the  colonies,  determining 
to  send  Colonel  Bouquet  with  an  efficient  army  against  the  Western  tribes,  who  were 
beleaguering  Fort  Pitt  and  overawing  the  valleys  of  the  Ohio,  Miami,  Scioto,  and 
Wabash,  and  at  the  same  time  to  direct  Colonel  Bradstreet  to  proceed  with  a  large 
force  in  boats  against  the  Northwestern  tribes  at  Detroit  To  enable  him  to  carry 
out  his  plans,  he  appealed  earnestly  to  the  respective  colonial  legislatures  for  troops, 
which  were  cheerfully  supplied.  Sir  William  Johnson  determined  to  hold  a  general 
convention  of  the  tribes  at  Fort  Niagara,  in  connection  with  the  Bradstreet  move 
ment,  and  to  endeavor  to  induce  as  many  Indians  as  possible  to  accompany  that 
officer  on  his  expedition  to  the  vicinage  of  the  upper  lakes.  Having  made  these 
arrangements,  Lord  Amherst,  who  had  zealously  and  efficiently  prosecuted  the  war 
against  Canada,  solicited  leave  to  return  to  England,  and  was  succeeded  in  the  com 
mand  by  General  Gage,  an  officer  of  very  moderate  abilities,  who,  a  few  years  later, 
as  commander-in-chief  of  Massachusetts,  inaugurated  the  hostile  movements  which 
brought  on  the  Revolutionary  War. 

It  being  necessary  to  conduct  the  operations  of  Bradstreet's  detachment  by  water, 

that  officer  superintended  the  work  of  constructing  a  flotilla  of  bateaux  at  Schenec- 

tady,  on  a  plan  of  his  own  invention,  each  boat  having  forty-six  feet  keel  and  being 

sufficiently  capacious  to  contain  twenty-seven  men  and  six  weeks'  provisions.     As 

220 


FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND  AND   THE  OHIO    VALLEY.  221 

soon  as  this  immense  flotilla  was  ready,  it  was  ordered  to  Oswego,  where  Sir  William 
Johnson  had  directed  the  Indians  to  assemble.  Bradstreet's  force  of  all  descriptions, 
on  reaching  Oswego,  numbered  about  twelve  hundred.  These  vessels  were  employed 
•  to  transport  the  heavy  stores  to  the  mouth  of  the  Niagara,  and  the  Indians  in  their 
canoes  followed  the  extended  train  of  bateaux  along  the  Ontario  coasts,  making  the 
usual  landings  at  the  Bay  of  Sodus1  and  Irondequoit.  They  arrived  at  Fort  Niagara 
in  the  beginning  of  July.  This  concourse  of  boaU  and  men  was,  however,  in  reality 
the  smallest  part  of  the  display. 

A  large  number  of  the  Indian  tribes  had  been  summoned  to  a  council  by  Sir 
William  Johnson,  who  had  collected  seventeen  hundred  Indians  at  Niagara.  Never 
before  had  such  a  body  of  Indians  been  congregated  under  his  auspices.  The  council 
was  held  in  Fort  Niagara.  He  had  brought  with  him  the  preliminary  articles  of  a 
treaty  of  peace,  amity,  and  alliance  which  had  been  prepared  by  him  at  Johnson  Hall, 
where  it  had  received  the  signatures  of  several  of  the  leading  chiefs.  Major  Gladwyn 
had  sent  Indian  deputies  from  Detroit,  and  various  causes  had  combined  to  swell  the 
attendance  at  this  great  convention.  Henry  relates  that  one  of  Sir  William's  mes 
sages  reached  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  at  the  foot  of  Lake  Superior,  and  induced  the  tribe 
there  located  to  send  a  deputation  of  twenty  persons.  The  Senecas,  however,  whose 
conduct  had  been  equivocal  during  the  war,  did  not  make  their  appearance,  although 
their  deputies  had  signed  the  preliminary  articles  at  Johnson  Hall.  Sir  William 
sent  to  their  villages  on  the  Genesee  repeated  messages  for  them,  which  were  uni 
formly  answered  by  promises.  But  promises  would  not  serve,  and,  consequently, 
Colonel  Bradstreet  authorized  the  baronet  to  send  a  final  message  announcing  that 
if  they  did  not  present  themselves  in  five  days  he  would  send  a  force  against  them 
and  destroy  their  villages.  This  brought  them  to  terms ;  they  immediately  attended 
the  convention,  and  at  the  same  time  surrendered  their  prisoners.  A  formal  treaty 
of  peace  was  then  concluded. 

Colonel  Bradstreet  desired  to  depart  immediately,  but  Sir  William  begged  him  to 
postpone  his  march  until  he  had  finished  with  the  tribes  and  given  them  their  pres 
ents,  for  although  he  had  just  concluded  a  treaty  of  peace  with  them  he  had  no  faith 
in  their  fidelity,  and  feared  that  if  the  troops  were  withdrawn  they  would  attack  the 
fort.  With  this  request  Bradstreet  complied.  He  at  length  departed,  taking  with 
him  three  hundred  Indian  warriors  as  auxiliaries,  although  he  was  conscious  they 
accompanied  him  rather  in  the  character  of  spies.  Sir  William,  having  accomplished 
this  important  pacification,  returned  home,  and  on  the  6th  of  August  Colonel  Brad- 
Btreet  proceeded  on  his  protracted  expedition  along  the  southern  coasts  of  Lake  Erie. 
His  intentions,  as  publicly  announced,  were  to  conclude  peace  with  such  tribes  as 
solicited  it,  and  to  chastise  all  who  continued  in  arms.  Being  detained  by  contrary 
winds  at  1'Anse  aux  Feuilles,  he  there  received  a  deputation  from  the  Wyandots  of 
Sandusky,  the  Shawnees  and  Delawares  of  the  Ohio,  and  the  bands  of  the  Six 

1  In  a  manuscript  journal  of  this  expedition,  written  by  John  McKcnny ,  »n  orderly  in  the  44th,  or  Royal 
Scots,  and  in  our  possession,  thin  bay  U  called  Onosodna,  which  appears  to  be  the  aboriginal  term. 


222  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Nations  residing  on  the  Scioto  Plains.  The  sachems  deputed  by  these  tribes  pre 
sented  four  belts  of  wampum  as  an  earnest  of  their  desire  for  peace,  and  in  their 
speeches  to  Bradstreet  excused  their  respective  nations  for  the  murders  and  outrages 
committed,  on  the  usual  pretext  of  not  being  able  to  restrain  their  young  warriors,  or 
of  not  being  aware  of  the  real  state  of  facts,  at  the  same  time  soliciting  forgiveness 
for  the  past  and  promising  fidelity  for  the  future.  Variable  weather  delayed  Brad- 
street  for  some  days,  but  he  was  at  length  enabled  to  proceed,  and  on  the  23d  of 
August  reached  Point  Petite  Isle,  where  intelligence  reached  him  that  the  Indians 
collected  on  the  Maumee  were  resolved  to  oppose  his  progress.  He  immediately 
determined  to  attack  them  in  that  position,  whither  Pontiac  had  then  retired ;  but 
while  yet  on  Lake  Erie,  pursuing  his  course  to  the  mouth  of  the  Maumee,  he 
received  a  deputation  from  the  Indians  of  that  stream,  who  requested  a  conference  at 
Detroit  Visiting  the  Bay  of  Maumee,  and  finding  the  Indian  camp  abandoned,  he 
returned  to  Point  Petite  Isle,  and  from  this  position  detached  Captain  Morris,  at 
the  head  of  a  body  of  men,  with  directions  to  march  across  the  country  and  take 
possession  of  the  territory  of  the  Illinois,  which  had  been  ceded  to  England  by  the 
treaty  concluded  at  Versailles  in  1763.1  Bradstreet  then  proceeded  to  the  head  of 
Lake  Erie,  and,  entering  the  Straits  of  Detroit,  reached  the  town  and  fort  on  the 
26th  of  August.  Never  previously  had  so  large  a  force,  accompanied  by  so  much 
military  display,  been  seen  in  that  vicinity.  The  long  lines  of  bateaux  and  barges, 
filled  with  their  complement  of  military,  with  their  glittering  arms,  their  colors 
flying,  drums  beating,  and  bugles  sounding,  were  followed  by  those  containing  the 
attaches  of  the  quartermaster's  and  commissary's  departments,  and  by  the  fleet  of 
canoes  containing  the  three  hundred  auxiliary  Mohawks  and  Senecas,  together  with 
the  deputies  of  the  surrounding  tribes.  Indians  always  judge  from  appearances, 
and  every  attendant  circumstance  indicated  that  the  British  government,  which 
could  send  so  numerous  and  well-appointed  a  force  to  so  distant  a  point,  must  in 
itself  be  strong.  Bradstreet  •  determined  to  land  his  army  on  the  plain  extending 
from  the  fort  along  the  banks  of  the  river,  and  as  detachment  after  detachment  filed 
past  with  military  exactitude  to  its  position  in  the  extended  camp,  the  gazing  multi 
tudes  of  red  men  realized  the  peril  of  their  past  position  and  trembled  for  the  future. 
The  commander  did  not  take  up  his  quarters  in  the  fort,  but  directed  his  marquee, 
on  which  the  red  cross  of  England  was  displayed,  to  be  pitched  in  the  centre  of  this 
vast  encampment  The  7th  of  September  was  appointed  for  the  meeting  of  the 
council,  when  the  aboriginal  deputies  were  received,  decked  out  with  all  their 
Oriental  taste,  and  bearing  their  ornamented  pipes  of  peace.  The  first  tribes  on  the 
ground  were  the  Ottawas  and  Chippewas,  who  had  been  the  head  and  front  of  Pon- 
tiac's  offending.  They  were  represented  by  Wassong,  attended  by  five  other  chiefs, 
whose  respective  names  were  Attowatomig,  Shamindawa,  Ottawany,  Apokess,  and 
Abetto.  Wassong  made  his  submission  in  terms  that  would  not  have  been  discredit 
able  to  a  philosopher  or  a  diplomatist.  He  excused  his  nation  for  their  participation 

1  It  appears  from  Parkman'a  "  Conspiracy  of  Pontiac"  that  this  duty  was  ill  performed. 


FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND  AND   THE  OHIO    VALLEY.  223 

in  the  war,  laid  the  blame  where  it  properly  belonged,  and  then,  appealing  to  the 
theology  which  recognizes  God  as  the  great  ruler  of  events,  who  orders  them  in 
wisdom  and  mercy,  promised  obedience  to  the  British  crown.  While  speaking,  he 
held  in  his  hand  a  belt  of  wampum  having  a  blue  and  white  ground,  interspersed 
with  devices  in  white,  green,  and  blue,  which,  at  the  close  of  his  speech,  he  deposited 
as  a  testimonial  of  the  truth  of  his  words.  He  then,  holding  forth  a  purple  and 
mixed  belt,  in  the  name  of  his  people  tendered  their  submission,  depositing  this  belt 
also  as  their  memorial.  Shamindawa  then  addressed  the  council  in  the  name  of 
Pontiac,  saying  that  he  regretted  what  had  happened,  and  asked  that  it  should  be 
forgiven,  adding  that  it  would  give  him  pleasure  to  co-operate  with  the  English.  He 
concluded  by  praying  for  the  success  of  the  Illinois  mission,  as  though  he  considered 
it  a  perilous  undertaking.  The  Hurons,  who  had  been  actively  engaged  in  the  war, 
next  presented  their  submission,  and  ailixed  to  the  treaty  the  emblematic  signature 
of  a  deer  and  a  cross.  A  Miami  chief,  whose  signature  was  a  turtle,  next  presented 
himself  in  the  name  of  his  nation,  to  concur  in  the  terms  acceded  to  by  the  Ottawaa 
and  Chippewas.  The  Pottawatomies  and  Foxes  then  affixed  their  signatures  by  the 
pictograph  of  a  fox,  an  eel,  and  a  bear.  The  Mississagies  were  represented  by 
Wapacomagot,  and  signified  their  acquiescence  by  tracing  the  figure  of  an  eagle  with 
a  medal  round  its  neck.  The  entire  number  of  Indians  present  at  the  conclusion 
of  the  treaty  with  Colonel  Bradstreet  has  been  estimated  at  nineteen  hundred  and 
thirty.1 

Bradstreet,  having  closed  his  negotiations  with  the  Indians,  reorganized  the  militia, 
and  established  the  civil  government  in  the  French  settlements  on  a  firm  basis,  pre 
pared  to  return  to  Sandusky,  with  the  view  of  complying  with  his  instructions  from 
General  Gage,  directing  him  to  bring  the  Shawnees  and  Delawares  to  terms.  On 
reaching  Sandusky  he  received  letters  from  General  Gage  censuring  him  for  offering 
terms  of  peace  to  the  Shawnee  and  Delaware  delegates,  and  for  his  general  course 
in  concluding  treaties  of  peace  with  the  Indians  without  consulting  Sir  William 

1  Mantc,  p.  526.    The  warriors  present,  and  their  numerical  force,  were  as  follows : 

Ottawas.. 220 

Chippewas 300 

Saakiea. 50 

Hurons : 80 

• 650 

Sayinatet,  including  thutf.  of  St.  Jiisrph. 

Chippewas 150 

Pottawatomies 450 

600       . 

O/Sandutky. 

Hurons 200 

Miamis 250 

Wea»... „ 230 

680 

Total...  .  1930 


224  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Johnson,  who  was  the  Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs,  and  with  whom  he  was 
directed  to  put  himself  in  communication.     This  is  the  first  instance  of  that  collision 

•  of.  authority  between  the  officers  of  the  military  and  Indian  service  of  which  the 
entire  subsequent  history  of  our  Indian  affairs  affords  abundant  examples  down  to 

"the  present  day.  Prior  to  this  period,  Bradstreet  had  left  a  relief  of  seven  companies 
m  the  fort  at  Detroit,  under  the  command  of  Lieutenant-Colonel  Campbell.  Two 
companies  under  Captain  Howard,  together  with  a  detachment  of  artillery  and  two 
companies  of  the  recently-organized  militia,  were  at  the  same  time  ordered  to  re- 
occupy  Michilimackinac.  To  supply  that  post  effectually,  a  vessel,  under  command 
of  Lieutenant  Sinclair  of  the  Fifteenth  Regular  Infantry,  was  directed  to  enter  Lake 
Huron.  This,  it  is  declared,  was  the  first  English  vessel  that  ever  attempted  the 
passage,1  and  the  voyage  appears  to  have  been  considered  an  intrepid  feat,  from 
which  we  may  reasonably  infer  that  the  name  of  the  lake  and  river  Sinclair  (St. 
Clair)  was  derived.*  Sinclair,  tradition  asserts,  was  the  commandant  of  Michilimack 
inac  prior  to  the  arrival  of  Captain  Robinson,  who  held  the  command  on  the  island 
in  1783,  when  a  facade  of  its  mural  precipices  fell  down. 

The  post  of  Michilimackinac  was  in  1764  situated  on  a  northern  headland  of 
the  peninsula  of  Michigan,  jutting  into  the  straits,  opposite  to  and  in  sight  of  the 
island,  and  also  of  Point  St.  Ignace.  This  was  the  point  which  had  been  selected-by 

-Marquette  as  the  site  of  a  mission,  and  in  its  simple  graveyard  his  remains  were 
interred  after  his  decease  at  the  little  river  bearing  his  name  on  the  east  shores 

,of  Lake  Michigan.*  By  order  of  General  Amherst,  the  French  garrison  was  relieved 
after  the  capture  of  Montreal,  and  the  troops  sent  for  that  purpose  were  led  by 
Major  Rogers,  the  partisan,  who  had  been  succeeded  by  Major  Etherington  at  the 

•time  of  the  massacre  in  1763.     At  the  date  of  the  massacre  the  Indians  did  not 

.burn  the  fort,  which,  as  the  traders  lived  within  it,  would  have  destroyed  their  goods, 
and  it  was,  therefore,  reoccupied  in  1764,  the  walls,  bastions,  and  gates  remaining 
entire.  Tradition  asserts  that  this  fort  was  visited  and  supplied  by  vessels  for  seven 
years  subsequently.  The  alarm  produced  by  the  American  Revolution  appears  to 
have  caused  the  transfer  of  the  fortification  to  the  island,  which,  tradition  affirms, 
was  made  about  the  year  1780.  The  Michilimackiuac  of  the  French  was,  therefore, 
located  on  the  apex  of  the  peninsula,  that  of  the  English  on  the  island. 

Michilimackinac  had  from  an  unknown  period  been  regarded  by  the  aborigines  as 
a  sacred  island,  consecrated  both  by  their  mythology  and  their  history.  It  was  be 
lieved  to  be  the  local  residence  of  important  spirits  of  their  pantheon,  and  its  caverns 
as  well  as  its  cliffs  were  calculated  to  favor  this  idea.  They  landed  ou  it  with  awe,  and 
its  precincts  were  preserved  from  the  intrusion  of  European  feet.  The  bones  found 


1  It  was  originally  made  by  the  "  Griffin,"  under  La  Salle,  in  1678. 

•  The  entire  river  from  Huron  to  Erie  was  called  Detroit  by  the  early  French  writers. 

'  After  their  removal  to  the  bland,  h'u  bones  were  interred  in  the  Catholic  church-yard,  but  a  question 
of  title  springing  up  many  yean  subsequently  caused  them  to  be  again  disturbed,  after  which  they  were 
reinterred  at  La  Crosse,  Michigan. 


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FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND  AND   THE  OHIO    VALLEY.  225 

in  its  caves,  its  deep  subterranean  passages,  the  regular  heaps  of  superimposed 
boulders,  and  the  evidences  of  cultivation  still  to  be  seen  in  many  isolated  spots, 
surrounded  with  impenetrable  foliage,  denote  that  it  had  not  only  been  occupied 
from  very  early  times,  but  that  its  occupancy  was  conceded  with  their  earliest 
history,  superstitions,  and  mythology. 

Traditions  which  have  been  carefully  sought  out  mention  that  the  English  were 
the  first  nation  who  were  permitted  to  occupy  its  sacred  shores  with  troops,  by  whom 
a  fort,  in  the  form  of  a  talus,  owing  to  the  shape  of  the  cliff,  was  placed  on  its  edge. 
A  village  was  laid  out  on  the  narrow  gravel  plain  below.  The  harbor,  though  small, 
possesses  a  good  anchorage,  and  is  sheltered  from  all  winds  except  those  from  the 
east.  Merchants  who  supplied  the  traders  to  a  wide  extent  of  country  east,  west,  and 
north  located  their  places  of  business  on  the  island.  The  traders  fitted  out  annually 
by  these  merchants  held  intercourse  with  the  tribes  of  Lake  Superior,  Michigan, 
Green  Bay,  the  Mississippi,  and  the  Illinois.  British  capital  and  enterprise  estab 
lished  this  trade  on  a  new  footing,  and  from  this  time  forth  it  became  a  trade-centre 
for  a  vast  country,  the  Indians  travelling  thither  a  distance  of  one  thousand  miles  in 
their  canoes,  bearing  with  them  their  weapons  and  the  tokens  of  their  bravery  and 
decorated  with  all  their  feathers  and  finery.  Detroit,  Vincennes,  Kaskaskia,  Cahokia, 
St.  Louis,  Prairie  du  Chien,  St.  Peters,  Chegoimegon,  the  vicinity  of  the  Lake  of  the 
Woods,  and  Lake  Winnipeg,  as  well  as  the  valley  of  the  Saskatchewan,  became  mere 
dependencies  of  the  new  metropolis  of  Indian  trade,  Michilimackiuac. 

The  great  object  of  the  campaign  of  1764  was,  however,  not  yet  accomplished. 
The  North  was  safe,  but  in  order  to  establish  a  permanent  and  general  peace  with  the 
Indians  it  was  requisite  that  the  war  should  be  vigorously  and  successfully  prosecuted 
in  the  South  and  West.  Both  the  British  commanders  intrusted  with  the  pacification 
must  be  triumphant.  They  must  prove  to  the  Indians  the  ability  of  the  English 
not  only  to  take  but  also  to  hold  Canada.  Pontiac  was  not  the  only  aboriginal  chief 
who  had  doubted  this  ability. 

The  plan  of  Sir  Jeffrey  Amherst  to  bring  the  Western  Indians  to  terms  after  the 
final  conquest  of  Canada  was  well  devised.  Had  he  directed  but  a  single  operation 
against  them,  both  the  Southwestern  and  Northwestern  tribes  would  have  united  to 
oppose  it,  but  by  sending  a  controlling  force,  under  Bnulstrcet,  to  the  Northwest, 
thro'igh  the  great  lakes,  to  Detroit,  and  at  the  same  time  another  under  Bouquet 
from  the  present  site  of  Pittsburg  to  the  Tuscarawas  and  the  Muskingum,  against 
the  tribes  of  the  Southwest,  he  effectually  divided  their  force,  and  demonstrated  to 
them  the  power  and  energy  of  the  government  claiming  their  submission,  whose 
military  prowess  had  caused  the  time-honored  French  flag  to  be  struck  at  Quebec, 
Montreal,  Niagara,  and  Du  Quesne.  His  successor,  General  Gage,  merely  carried 
out  this  plan,  though,  if  we  may  credit  the  testimony  of  a  contemporary  officer, 
.  without  much  appreciation  of  the  necessary  details. 

The  offer  of  terms  of  peace  to  the  Shawnees  and  other  Southwestern  tribes  dubi 
ously  represented  in  the  month  of  August,  1764,  as  made  by  Colonel  Bradstrcet 
while  on  his  way  to  Detroit,  was  deemed  by  the  other  officers  in  the  field  to  be  a  vain- 

II— 29 


226  TB*  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

glorious  assumption  of  power  and  an  unnecessary  interference  with  the  civic  duties 
of  Sir  William  Johnson.  But  Bradstreet's  ardor  and  promptitude  as  a  commander 
created  a  very  favorable  impression  on  the  Indians  in  the  region  of  the  lakes,  and 
his  expedition  to  that  then  remote  point  inaugurated  one  of  the  soundest  features  of 
the  British  Indian  policy. 

Bradstrect  did  not  leave  Detroit  until  the  14th  of  September,  and  on  the  18th  he 
reached  Sandusky  Bay,  where  he  detached  a  party  with  orders  to  destroy  a  settle 
ment  of  Mohicans  in  that  vicinity  under  Mohigan  John ;  but  the  Indians  eluded 
them.  Single  delegates  from  the  Delawares,  Shawnees,  and  Scioto-Iroquois,  accom 
panied  by  a  Tuscarora  Indian,  here  met  him,  and  made  statements  which,  it  is  con 
ceived,  were  not  entitled  to  any  weight,  but  were  dictated  by  the  spirit  of  Indian 
subtlety  which  anticipated  coming  evil.  He  then  proceeded  with  his  army  to  Upper 
Sandusky,  where  a  Wyandot  village  had  been  destroyed  the  previous  year  by  Captain 
Dalzell.  Here  he  received  letters  from  General  Gage  disapproving  of  his  offers  of 
peace  to  the  Delawares  and  Shawnees.  He  had  been  directed  to  attack  the  Wyan- 
dots  of  Sandusky,  and  also  the  Delawares  and  Shawnees,  then  residing  on  the  Mus- 
kingum  and  Scioto.  The  route  to  the  former  river,  he  was  correctly  informed,  was 
up  the  Cuyahoga,  and  to  the  latter  up  the  Sandusky.  Both  the  carrying-places  were 
stated  to  be  short,  and  the  choice  of  either  was  left  to  him.  But  on  making  trial  of 
the  Sandusky  the  water  appeared  to  be  too  low,  and  his  guides  led  him  to  think  that 
from  the  shortness  of  the  portage  his  provisions  could  be  transported  on  men's 
shoulders.  The  portage  between  the  Cuyahoga  and  the  Tuscarawas  fork  of  the 
Muskingum  was  found  to  be  at  that  season  equally  impracticable.  In  this  dilemma, 
and  to  enable  him  to  act  as  a  check  on  the  Delawares  and  Shawnees,  against  whom 
Bouquet  was  marching,  Bradstreet  determined  to  encamp  on  the  Sandusky  portage. 
He  opened  a  communication  with  Colonel  Bouquet,  who  was  advancing  from  Pitts- 
burg  at  the  head  of  his  army ;  and  by  occupying  this  position  he  likewise  exerted  a 
favorable  influence  towards  concluding  a  general  peace  with  the  Western  Indians, 
which  effect  resulted  from  that  movement  From  Indians  who  visited  his  camp  he 
learned  that  the  Delawares  and  Shawnees  were  already  tired  of  the  war  and  sought 
to  make  a  peace  on  the  best  terms  they  could  obtain.  They  were  the  more  anxious 
on  this  point  because  of  the  threat  of  the  Six  Nations,  who  were  strongly  in  the 
English  interest,  to  make  war  on  them.  To  them  such  a  war  was  far  more  to  be 
dreaded  than  the  English  armies,  for  they  trembled  at  the  very  mention  of  the 
Iroquois.  Everything,  indeed,  pointed  to  a  favorable  termination  of  the  war. 

During  the  autumn  and  winter  of  1763-64  Bouquet  had  remained  in  garrison 
at  Fort  Pitt,  where  the  Indians  did  not  molest  him.  But  experience  had  demon 
strated  that  the  subtlety  and  agility  of  the  savages,  and  their  superior  knowledge 
of  the  topographical  features  of  the  wilderness,  required  a  degree  of  caution  on  the 
march  beyond  what  would  have  been  necessary  in  opposing  civilized  troops.  The 
force  destined  for  Bouquet  reached  Fort  Pitt  on  the  17th  of  September,  while  Brad- 
street  was  on  his  way  from  Detroit  to  Sandusky,  but  the  former  did  not  leave  Fort 
Pitt  until  the  3d  of  October.  He  had  under  his  command  fifteen  hundred  men, 


FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND  AND   THE  OHIO    VALLEY.  227 

furnished  with  every  needful  supply.  Having  become  an  adept  in  the  use  of  field- 
maps,  guides,  and  forest  arts,  he  marched  slowly  and  surely,  his  army  covering  a 
large  space  in  the  forest,  and  indicating  great  strength  of  purpose  as  well  as  confi 
dence  of  success.  All  this  was  observed  and  duly  reported  by  Indian  spies.  The 
Indians,  moreover,  were  aware  that  Bradstreet  was  on  the  Sandusky  at  the  head  of 
even  a  larger  force.  To  employ  an  Indian  simile,  these  armies  appeared  like  two 
converging  clouds,  which  must  soon  overwhelm  them. 

On  the  6th  of  October  the  army  reached  Beaver  Kiver,  where  they  found  a  white 
man  who  had  escaped  from  the  Indians.  He  stated  that  the  latter  were  in  great 
alarm,  and  that  those  located  along  Bouquet's  line  of  march  had  concealed  themselves. 
On  the  8th  the  troops  crossed  the  Little  Beaver  River,  and  on  the  14th  encamped  on 
the  Tuscarawas.  A  competent  observer,  who  visited  the  country  in  1748,  reported 
the  number  of  Indian  warriors  then  in  the  Ohio  Valley  at  seven  hundred  and  eighty- 
nine.  Of  these  there  were  Seuecas,  one  hundred  and  sixty-three ;  Shawnees,  one 
hundred  and  sixty-two ;  Wyandots,  one  hundred  and  forty ;  Mohawks,  seventy-four ; 
Mohicans,  fifteen ;  Onondagas,  thirty-five ;  Cayugas,  twenty  ;  Oneidas,  fifteen ;  and 
Delawares,  one  hundred  and  sixty-five.  These  figures  would  indicate  an  aggregate 
population  of  a  fraction  under  four  thousand,  and  it  is  not  probable  that  the  number 
had  varied  much  in  sixteen  years.  While  encamped  on  the  Tuscarawas,  two  men 
arrived  who  had  been  sent  by  Bouquet  from  Fort  Pitt  as  messengers  to  Colonel 
Bradstreet.  On  their  return  they  had  been  captured  by  the  Delawares  and  conveyed 
to  an  Indian  village  sixteen  miles  distant,  where  they  were  detained  until  the  news 
arrived  of  Bouquet's  advance  with  an  army.  From  information  subsequently 
received  through  Major  Smallwood,  one  of  the  captives  was  finally  surrendered  by 
the  Indians,  a  report  being  circulated  that  Bouquet  was  advancing  to  extirpate  them. 
The  effect  of  this  news  on  the  Indians  implicated  was  to  determine  them,  with  the 
connivance  of  a  low-minded  French  trader,  to  massacre  all  the  prisoners  in  their 
hands.  The  two  messengers,  however,  were  liberated,  and  commissioned  to  tell 
Colonel  Bouquet  that  the  Shawnees  and  Delawares  would  visit  him  for  the  purpose 
of  proposing  terms  of  peace.  Accordingly,  their  deputies  arrived  two  days  subse 
quently,  and  brought  information  that  all  their  chiefs  were  assembled  at  the  distance 
of  about  eight  miles.  The  following  day  was  appointed  for  a  conference  at  Colonel 
Bouquet's  tent.  The  first  delegation  which  advanced  comprised  twenty  Senecas, 
under  the  direction  of  their  chief,  Kigaschuta ;  next  came  twenty  Delawares,  mar 
shalled  by  Custaloga  and  Amik ;  and  then  six  Shawnees,  led  by  Keissnautchta,  who 
appeared  as  the  representative  of  several  tribes.  Each  chief  tendered  a  belt  of 
wampum,  accompanying  its  presentation  by  a  speech  which  embraced  the  usual 
subjects  of  Indian  diplomacy,  excusing  what  had  been  done  during  the  war,  placing 
all  the  censure  on  the  rashness  of  their  young  men,  promising  to  deliver  up  all  their 
captives,  soliciting  a  cessation  of  hostilities,  and  pledging  future  fidelity  to  their 
agreements. 

Bouquet  realized  the  advantage  of  his  position,  and  a  day  was  appointed  for  his 
answer,  which,  when  given,  embraced  all  the  points  in  question.     He  spoke  to  them 


228  TffE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

as  oae  having  full  authority,  accused  them  of  perfidy,  upbraided  them  for  haying 
pillaged  and  murdered  English  traders,  and  charged  them  with  killing  four  English 
messengers  who  carried  a  commission  from  the  king.  He  also  spoke  to  them  of 
the  audacity  of  their  course  in  besieging  the  king's  troops  at  Fort  Pitt  The  whole 
tone  of  his  address  was  elevated,  truthful,  and  manly.  He  concluded  by  informing 
them  that  if  they  would  deliver  up  to  him  all  the  prisoners,  men,  women,  and  chil 
dren,  then  in  their  possession,  not  even  excepting  those  who  had  married  into  the 
tribes,  furnish  them  with  clothing,  horses,  and  provisions,  and  convey  them  to  Fort 
Pitt,  he  would  grant  them  peace,  but  on  no  other  terms. 

He  then  broke  up  the  conference  and  put  his  army  in  motion  for  the  Muskingnm, 
it  being  a  more  central  position,  and  one  from  which,  if  the  Indians  faltered  in 
carrying  out  their  engagements,  he  could  the  more  readily  direct  his  operations 
against  them.  While  the  army  was  encamped  on  the  Tuscarawas,  the  Delawares 
brought  in  eighteen  white  prisoners,  and  also  eighty  small  sticks,  indicating  the 
number  still  in  their  possession.  The  army  broke  ground  on  the  Muskingum  on 
the  25th  of  October,  and  on  the  28th  Caughnawaga  Peter  arrived  with  letters  from 
Colonel  BradstreeL  During  the  ensuing  week  the  camp  was  a  scene  of  continual 
arrivals  and  excitement  During  the  month  of  November  the  Indians  of  the  various 
tribes  delivered  up  their  captives.  Such  a  scene  was  perhaps  never  before  witnessed, 
and  certainly  nothing  like  it  ever  afterwards  took  place.  They  surrendered  of  Vir 
ginians  thirty-two  men  and  fifty-eight  women  and  children,  and  of  Pennsylvanians 
forty-nine  men  and  sixty-seven  women  and  children.  Major  Smallwood,  an  officer 
who  had  been  captured  the  previous  year  near  Detroit  by  the  Wyandots,  was  like 
wise  restored  to  his  friends.  These  comprised  all  who  had  escaped  the  war-club,  the 
scalping-knife,  and  the  stake ;  old  and  young  were  indiscriminately  mingled  together 
in  the  area.  A  solemn  council  ensued,  at  which  Custaloga  represented  the  Dela 
wares,  and  Kigaschuta  the  Senecas.  The  latter  began  : 

"With  this  belt"  (opening  the  wampum)  "I  wipe  the  tears  from  your  eyes. 
We  deliver  you  these  prisoners,  the  last  of  your  flesh  and  blood  with  us.  By  this 
token  we  assemble  and  bury  the  bones  of  those  who  have  been  killed  in  this  unhappy 
war,  which  the  evil  spirit  excited  us  to  kindle.  We  bury  these  bones  deep,  never 
more  to  be  looked  or  thought  on.  We  cover  the  place  of  burial  with  leaves,  that  it 
may  not  be  seen.  The  Indians  have  been  a  long  time  standing  with  arms  in  their 
hands.  The  clouds  have  hung  in  black  above  us.  The  path  between  us  has  been 
shut  up.  But  with  this  sacred  emblem  we  open  the  road  clear,  that  we  may  travel 
on  as  our  fathers  did.  We  let  in  light  from  above  to  guide  our  steps.  We  hold  in 
our  hands  a  silver  chain,  which  we  put  into  yours,  and  which  will  ever  remain  bright 
and  preserve  our  friendship." 

Similar  sentiments  were  expressed  by  the  other  speakers,  and  a  general  ces 
sation  of  hostilities  resulted;  the  terms  of  pacification  were  agreed  on,  hostages 
were  demanded  and  furnished,  and  six  deputies  were  appointed  to  visit  Sir  Wil 
liam  Johnson.  Bouquet  set  out  on  his  return  to  Fort  Pitt,  which  he  reached  on 
the  28th  of  November.  From  this  point  the  rescued  captives  were  sent  to  their 


FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND  AND   THE  OHIO    VALLEY.  229 

respective  homes.  Bradstreet  also  returned,  by  way  of  Lake  Erie,  to  Fort  Niagara 
and  Albany,  a  part  of  his  army  having  marched  thither  by  land.  An  effectual 
termination  was  thus  put  to  the  hostilities  of  the  Indians  against  the  British  govern 
ment  consequent  upon  the  conquest  of  Canada. 

The  subsequent  career  of  Pontiac  may  here  be  briefly  noticed.  After  abandoning 
the'siege  of  Detroit,  he  withdrew,  in  November,  to  the  Maumee,  whence,  during  the 
following  year,  he  made  numerous  journeys  westward,  visiting  different  tribes  to 
obtain  their  co-operation  in  his  plans,  stirring  them  by  his  eloquence  and  imbuing 
them  with  his  own  fierce  spirit.  With  four  hundred  warriors  at  his  back,  he  sought 
St.  Ange,  the  French  commandant  of  Fort  Chartres,  and  demanded  arms,  ammuni 
tion,  and  troops,  a  request  which  that  officer  was  forced  to  decline.  He  even  sent  an 
embassy  to  D'Abadie,  Governor  of  Louisiana,  with  the  same  object,  but  with  no  other 
result  than  the  good  advice  to  make  his  peace  with  the  English. 

Recognizing  at  length  the  fact  that  his  cause  was  lost,  Pontiac  wisely  concluded 
to  accept  the  counsel,  and  with  his  chiefs  journeyed  to  Oswego  to  meet  Sir  William 
Johnson,  and  sealed  his  submission  by  a  treaty  concluded  with  him  July  30, 1766. 
This  "  champion  of  his  race"  was  assassinated  in  April,  1769,  while  carousing  at 
Cahokia,  Illinois,  by  an  Illinois  Indian,  who  is  said  to  have  been  bribed  to  commit 
the  act  by  an  English  trader  for  a  barrel  of  whiskey.  The  body  was  buried  with 
the  honors  of  war  by  his  friend  St.  Ange,  commandant  of  St.  Louis. 


CHAPTER   VIIL 

LOGAN— DUNMORFS  EXPEDITION— BATTLE  OP  POINT  PLEASANT— PEACE  CON 
CLUDED—INDIAN  TRADE— CAPTAIN  JONATHAN  CARVER— CENSUS  OF  THE 
TRIBES. 

m 

THE  peace  concluded  with  the  Indians,  influenced  as  they  were  by  the  presence 
of  large  armies,  and  compelled  thereto  by  the  force  of  circumstances,  was  not  conso 
nant  to  their  feelings,  and  exercised  only  a  temporary  restraint  upon  their  actions. 
Canada  having  submitted  to  the  British  arms,  they  had  no  longer  their  ancient  ally 
to  rest  on,  and  they  had  finally  submitted,  in  1764,  to  a  power  which  they  could  not 
continue  to  oppose,  assuming  the  garb  of  peace  and  breathing  words  of  submission 
while  their  hearts  still  glowed  with  desire  for  war  and  plunder.  The  fire  was  merely 
smothered.  This  state  of  quasi  amity  and  friendship  continued  for  several  years 
subsequent  to  the  expeditions  of  Bradstreet  and  Bouquet.  These  expeditions  had, 
however,  been  the  means  of  making  geographical  explorations  which  had  developed 
districts  of  country  inviting  in  all  their  natural  characteristics,  and  which  possessed  a 
deep  and  fertile  soil,  and  in  consequence  the  desire  for  their  acquisition  by  an  agri 
cultural  people  became  ardent  and  absorbing.  The  Indians  were  very  soon  regarded 
as  a  mere  incumbrance  on  the  land,  and  life  was  freely  ventured  in  its  acquisition. 

The  project  for  the  settlement  of  Kentucky  originated  in  1773.  A  resolution  was 
formed  to  make  the  attempt  early  in  the  following  spring,  notwithstanding  the  fact 
that  the  country  was  occupied  by  Indians  who  had  committed  some  mischief  and  were 
suspected  of  hostile  intentions.  The  mouth  of  the  Little  Kanawha  was  selected  as 
the  place  of  rendezvous.  Reports  of  a  very  alarming  nature  deterred  several  persons 
from  joining  in  the  attempt.  About  eighty  or  ninety  fearless  and  enterprising  men 
met  at  the  rendezvous,  among  whom  was  George  Rogers  Clarke,  the  future  conqueror 
of  Illinois.  The  explorers  remained  encamped  at  this  point  for  several  days,  during 
which  time  a  small  party  of  hunters,  who  had  gone  out  to  obtain  supplies  of  meat  for 
the  camp,  were  fired  on  at  a  point  on  the  Ohio  below  their  camp.  This  act  betokened 
a  state  of  hostile  feeling  among  the  Indians.  It  being  deemed  necessary  to  select  a 
commander,  Captain  Michael  Cresap  was  chosen,  who  had  acquired  a  wide  reputation 
as  a  warrior  during  the  previous  year,  and  who  was  known  to  be  then  on  the  Ohio 
above  with  a  party.  They  had  purposed  attacking  a  Shawnee  town  located  on  the 
Scioto  River  at  a  place  called  Horsehead  Bottom,  but  Cresap  opposed  it,  on  the  ground 
that,  although  appearances  on  the  part  of  the  Indians  were  very  suspicious,  there  was 
no  open  war,  and  that,  being  yet  early  in  the  spring,  it  was  most  prudent  to  await 
further  developments.  This  advice  was  followed,  and  the  whole  party  accompanied 
230 


FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND  AND   THE  OHIO    VALLEY.  231 

him  up  the  river  to  Wheeling,1  at  which  place  they  established  their  headquarters. 
The  numbers  of  the  armed  explorers  were  quickly  augmented  by  the  surrounding 
settlers,  a  fort  was  erected,  and,  after  some  negotiations  with  the  commander  at  Pitts- 
burg,  acting  under  the  authority  of  Lord  Dunmore,  the  existence  of  a  state  of  war 
was  publicly  announced. 

This  period  of  Indian  history  requires  a  moment's  further  attention,  as  a  war  with 
the  Shawnees,  Delawares,  and  Mingoes  was  on  the  point  of  commencing.  A  foul 
deed  was  committed  a  few  days  subsequently  by  some  reckless  and  unprincipled 
traders,  or  vandal  scouts,  who,  according  to  Colonel  Sparks,  unknown  to  Cresap, 
stole  on  Logan's  lodge  and  cruelly  murdered  his  family.  This  crime  introduced  on 
the  scene  of  action  the  celebrated  chieftain  Logan,  whose  misfortunes  have  excited 
wide-spread  sympathy,  and  whose  simple  eloquence  has  electrified  the  world. 

Logan  was  born  at  Shamokin,  on  the  Susquehanna,  a  spot  whose  precincts  have 
been  hallowed  by  the  good  deeds  of  the  benevolent  Count  Zinzendorf  and  his  follow 
ers,  who  there  founded  the  mission  of  Bethlehem.1  Logan's  father,  whose  name  was 
Shikelimo,  was  an  Iroquois,  of  the  Cayuga  tribe.  Logan  himself  was  a  tall,  active 
man,  of  noble  appearance  and  humane  sentiments,  and  was  kind  and  peaceful  in 
disposition  and  character.  The  murder  of  his  family  and  his  relations  on  the  Ohio, 
in  1774,  was  not  the  result  of  the  expedition  from  Virginia  which  has  just  been 
described,  but  was  attributable  to  the  inordinate  desire  for  acquisition  on  the  one 
hand,  and  the  feeling  of  exasperation  on  the  other,  which  have  so  long  charac 
terized  the  remote  sections  of  the  frontiers.  The  event  occurred  two  days  after 
the  final  decision  at  Wheeling,  and  at  a  time  when  uncommonly  great  excitement 
existed.  Two  canoes  from  the  west  bank  of  the  Ohio  stopped  at  a  trader's  station 
at  the  mouth  of  Yellow  River,  some  twenty  miles  below  Wheeling.  There  is  no 
evidence  that  the  armed  frontiersmen  at  the  station  knew  that  either  Logan's  wife 
or  sister,  or  any  relative  of  his,  was  among  the  number  of  these  trading  visitors,  and 
the  atrocious  act  must  be  regarded  as  a  result  of  the  then  prevalent  and  rancorous 
hatred  of  the  Indian  race.  The  victims  were  shot  down  in  their  canoes  while  cross 
ing  the  Ohio,  not  because  they  were  obnoxious  as  individuals,  not  because  they  were 
of  the  family  of  Logan,  but  simply  because  they  were  Indians.  Such  is  the  gen 
erally  acknowledged  version  of  this  base  transaction.  But  Colonel  Sparks,  while 
exonerating  Cresap  from  complicity  in  this  foul  deed,  either  personally  or  through 
any  orders  or  permission  given  to  his  men,  reveals  an  entirely  new  feature  in  the 
case.  No  member  of  Logan's  family  was  in  the  two  canoes  which  stopped  at  Baker's 
Bottom,  but  they  were  killed  in  Logan's  own  lodge,  on  Mingo  Bottom,  during  his 
absence  on  a  hunting  excursion.  The  cowardly  deed  was  done  by  some  of  Cresap's 
men  who  had  stolen  away  from  his  camp  contrary  to  his  wishes  while  he  was  jour 
neying  from  Wheeling  to  Pittsburg,  and  against  his  express  orders,  which  were  to 

1  This  Indian  (Delaware)  name  is  •  derivative  from  icrel,  a  human  head,  and  ing,  a  place, — there  being  a 
tradition  that  the  Indians  had  fixed  a  human  head  on  a  pole  at  this  place. 

*  Logan  had  married  a  Shawnee  wife,  spoke  that  language,  lived  with  the  tribe,  and  was  frequently 
regarded  as  a  Shawnee. 


232  fJff  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

respect  Logan's  residence  and  not  to  attack  it  Not  only  was  this  so,  but  when 
Cresap  heard  the  firing  he  immediately  ran  in  the  direction  whence  the  sounds 
proceeded,  and  interposed  his  authority  to  stop  the  massacre.  There  is  another 
misstatement  which  requires  correction.  The  pusillanimous  attack  on  the  canoes  at 
Yellow  Creek  was  not  committed  by  the  men  of  Cresap's  command,  then  on  the  Ohio, 
far  less  by  Cresap  himself,  or  by  his  orders.  On  the  contrary,  not  only  was  Cresap 
a  brave  and  worthy  man,  distinguished  for  his  services  in  the  Indian  wars  of  that 
period,  as  well  as  during  the  Revolution,  which  succeeded  it,  but  he  was  also  a  friend 
of  Logan,  and,  according  to  George  Rogers  Clarke,  opposed  an  attack  on  Logan's 
house  at  Mingo  Bottom. 

The  force  congregated  at  Wheeling  soon  became  engaged  in  a  struggle  with  the 
Indians.  A  day  or  two  after  their  arrival  at  that  place,  some  canoes  containing 
Indians  were  discovered  descending  the  river  under  shelter  of  the  island.  They 
were  pursued  for  fifteen  miles,  when  a  battle  ensued,  in  which  a  few  men  were  killed 
and  wounded  on  each  side.  Hostilities  having  thus  commenced,  the  entire  country 
soon  swarmed  with  armed  Indians,  and  the  settlers,  to  insure  their  own  safety,  were 
compelled  to  huddle  together  in  block-houses. 

An  express  was  despatched  to  Governor  Dunmore,  at  Williamsburg,  with  in 
formation  as  to  the  position  of  affairs  on  the  frontiers.  The  legislature  being  then 
in  session,  measures  were  at  once  adopted  for  repelling  the  Indians.  Early  in  the 
month  of  June  a  force  of  four  hundred  men,  collected  in  Eastern  Virginia,  reached 
Wheeling,  whence  they  descended  the  river  to  the  Indian  town  of  Wappatomica, 
but  without  effecting  anything,  as  the  town  was  deserted  and  the  Indians  had  fled. 
In  this  expedition  the  men  suffered  much  for  want  of  food.  After  various  manoeuv- 
rings  and  much  countermarching,  during  which  several  Indian  towns  were  burned 
and  a  few  men  killed,  Indian  subtlety  proving  more  than  a  match  for  English  dis 
cipline  and  rash  confidence,  the  army  returned  to  Wheeling  and  was  disbanded. 

A  more  formidable  expedition,  however,  was  organized  at  the  seat  of  the  Virginia 
government,  of  which  Governor  Dunmore  announced  his  determination  to  assume 
the  command.  By  the  1st  of  September,  1774,  a  force  numbering  from  one  thousand 
to  twelve  hundred  men  was  organized,  under  the  immediate  command  of  Colonel 
Andrew  Lewis.  After  marching  nineteen  days  through  the  wilderness,  Lewis 
reached  Point  Pleasant,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Kanawha,  where  he  was  to  have 
been  joined  by  Dunmore,  but  instead  thereof  he  received  despatches  from  him 
changing  the  plan  of  operations  and  directing  him  to  proceed  to  the  Scioto  River. 
At  daybreak  on  the  10th  of  October,  while  preparing  to  comply  with  this  order,  his 
camp  was  suddenly  attacked  by  a  body  of  one  thousand  Shawnees  and  iheir  allies, 
led  on  by  the  Shawnee  chief  Monusk,  or  Cornstalk,  and  a  fiercely-contested  battle 
ensued.  The  Indians  exhibited  great  daring,  rushing  to  the  encounter  with  a  bold 
ness  and  fury  which  have  seldom  been  equalled,  and,  as  usual,  accompanying  their 
onslaught  with  tremendous  noise  and  shouting. 

The  battle  continued  with  unabated  fury  until  one  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  the 
Indians  slowly  retreating  from  tree  to  tree,  while  the  gigantic  Cornstalk  encouraged 


FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND  AND   TUB  OHIO    VALLEY.  233 

them  with  the  words,  "  Be  strong !  be  strong !"  The  peculiarity  of  the  ground — it 
being  the  point  of  junction  of  two  rivers — made  each  retreat  of  the  enemy  advanta 
geous  to  the  Virginians,  because,  as  the  Indian  line  extended  from  river  to  river, 
forming  the  base  of  an  equilateral  triangle,  it  was  lengthened,  and  consequent!/ 
weakened.  The  belligerents  rested  within  rifle-shot  of  each  other,  and  kept  up  a 
desultory  fire  till  sunset. 

Colonels  Charles  Lewis  and  Fleming  were  killed,  and  the  troops  were  obliged  to 
give  ground  for  a  time,  but,  a  reinforcement  being  ordered  up,  the  Indians  were  in 
turn  compelled  to  fall  back,  and  under  cover  of  darkness  fled  across  the  river.  The 
Indians  engaged  were  Shawnees,  Delawares,  "Wyandots,  and  Mingoes.1  Among  the 
leaders  of  the  latter  was  Tah-ga-yu-ta,  or  Logan.  The  Virginians  acknowledge  a  loss 
of  one  hundred  and  fifty  men,  and  the  Indians  are  estimated  to  have  lost  two  hun 
dred  warriors.  Indian  history  nowhere  records  a  more  obstinately  contested  battle. 
Neither  party  could  fairly  claim  the  victory.  The  loss  of  the  Virginians  would 
have  been  much  greater  had  they  not  adopted  the  tactics  of  the  natives,  darting 
from  tree  to  tree  with  the  spring  of  a  cougar,  and  taking  aim  with  the  precision  of 
woodsmen. 

Having  properly  interred  the  dead,  and  erected  and  garrisoned  a  temporary  fort, 
Lewis  moved  forward  to  the  Scioto,  but  in  the  mean  time  Lord  Dunmore  had  reached 
that  stream  by  way  of  Pittsburg,  and  had  established  a  camp  about  seven  miles 
southeast  of  Circleville,  which  he  called  Charlotte,  at  the  mouth  of  a  small  stream 
known  as  the  Sippi.*  At  this  camp  the  Indians  were  collected,  and  a  treaty  of 
amity  was  concluded,  by  which  the  Shawnees  agreed  to  deliver  up  their  prisoners 
without  reserve,  to  restore  all  horses  and  other  property  which  they  had  carried 
off,  to  hunt  no  more  on  the  Kentucky  side  of  the  Ohio,  to  molest  no  boats  passing 
on  the  river,  to  regulate  their  trade  by  the  king's  instructions,  and  to  deliver  up 
hostages.  Colonel  Lewis  was  greatly  irritated  because  Dunmore  would  not  allow  him 
to  crush  the  enemy  within  his  grasp,  and  the  Virginians,  eager  for  revenge,  almost 
mutinied. 

In  the  council  Cornstalk  spoke  with  a  manly  tone  and  demeanor  which  excited 
remark,  adroitly  charging  upon  the  whites  the  outbreak  of  the  war,  especially  citing 
the  murder  of  the  family  of  Logan.  All  the  tribes  which  had  been  engaged  in  the 
battle  were  there  represented,  except  the  Mingoes.  The  latter  being  under  the  influ 
ence  of  Logan,  who  had  entered  into  this  war  with  the  most  revengeful  feelings,  were 
restrained  by  him  from  coming  forward.  Lord  Dunmore  sent  for  the  chief,  but  he 
declined  attending,  and  transmitted  to  him  this  speech,  which  has  given  to  his  name 
a  literary  immortality : 

"  I  appeal  to  any  white  man  to  say  if  ever  he  entered  Logan's  cabin  hungry,  and 
I  gave  him  not  meat ;  if  ever  he  came  cold  or  naked,  and  I  gave  him  not  clothing. 
During  the  course  of  the  last  long  and  bloody  war,  Logan  remained  in  his  tent,  an 
advocate  for  peace ;  nay,  such  was  my  love  for  the  whites,  that  those  of  my  own 

1  The  Iroquoia  of  the  Ohio  wen  thai  named.  *  Sippi  u  tbe  Shmwnee  name  for  a  creek. 

II— 30 


234  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

country  pointed  at  me  as  they  passed  by,  and  said, 4  Logan  is  the  friend  of  white 
men !'  I  had  even  thought  to  live  with  you,  hut  for  the  injuries  of  one  man.  Col 
onel  Cresap,  the  last  spring,  in  cold  blood  and  unprovoked,  cut  off  all  the  relations 
of  Logan,  not  even  sparing  my  women  and  children.  There  runs  not  a  drop  of  my 
blood  in  the  veins  of  any  human  creature.  This  called  on  me  for  revenge.  I  have 
sought  it — I  have  killed  many — I  have  fully  glutted  my  vengeance.  For  my 
country,  I  rejoice  at  the  beams  of  peace ;  but  do  not  harbor  the  thought  that  mine  is 
the  joy  of  fear.  Logan  never  felt  fear.  He  will  not  turn  on  his  heel  to  save  his 
life.  Who  is  there  to  mourn  for  Logan  ?  Not  one." 

Logan  had  ever  been  the  friend  of  the  white  man,  but  on  the  perpetration  of  the 
cruel  deed  the  spirits  of  his  kindred  clamored  for  vengeance.  He  went  upon  the 
war-path  with  a  few  followers,  and  added  scalp  to  scalp  until  the  number  was  thir 
teen,— equalling  that  of  the  Indian  victims.  "  Now,"  said  the  chief,  "  I  am  satisfied 
for  the  loss  of  my  relations,  and  will  sit  still." 

The  subjugation  of  "the  Indians  being  at  length  effected,  from  this  period  we  may 
trace  the  progress  of  the  British  towards  a  monopoly  of  the  Indian  trade,  which 
tremendous  engine  of  power  was  destined  ultimately  to  operate  in  elevating  or 
depressing  the  tribes,  in  accordance  with  the  will  of  those  who  directed  its  move 
ments.  The  trade  with  the  Indians  was  a  boon  at  which  commerce  clutched  with  an 
eager  hand.  To  secure  the  coveted  prize  no  hardship  was  considered  too  severe, 
no  labor  too  onerous ;  dangers  and  difficulties  were  laughed  at,  and  life  itself  was 
regarded  as  of  little  value.  The  Indians  were  incited  to  new  exertions  in  pursuing 
the  chase,  little  heeding  that  they  were  destroying  their  main  resource  for  the 
sustenance  of  life,  for  when  the  fur-bearing  animals  were  annihilated  their  lands 
became  in  a  great  measure  valueless  to  them.  In  the  hands  of  the  English,  Quebec, 
Montreal,  Detroit,  Michilimackinac,  and  the  Mississippi  towns  not  only  equalled 
their  progress  under  the  French,  but  became  still  greater  centres  of  trade.  Though 
New  York,  Philadelphia,  and  Charleston  contributed  their  capital  to  the  exten 
sion  of  this  trade,  the  above-named  original  interior  towns  of  the  traders  still  held 
their  prominent  position.  The  tribes  scattered  over  the  continent  felt  severely 
the  effects  of  this  ever-extending  empire  of  trade ;  they  were  literally  driven  from 
the  face  of  the  earth  by  the  rabid  and  uncontrolled  pursuit  of  wealth  through 
the  medium  of  the  fur-trade,  which  so  long  promised  riches  to  those  who  engaged 
in  it 

Sir  William  Johnson,  who  had  been  during  forty  years  the  Maecenas  of  the 
Indians,  and  who  knew  the  disastrous  effects  which  unlicensed  trade  would  have  on 
Indian  society,  early  saw  the  importance  of  so  systematizing  and  controlling  it  that  it 
might  become  an  element  not  only  of  power  but  of  prosperity  to  the  colonies  and  to 
the  Indians.  His  letters  and  memoirs  on  this  subject  furnish  abundant  proof  of  his 
comprehensive  views  and  of  his  integrity  of  character.  Indeed,  his  activity  during 
his  entire  management  of  Indian  affairs  gave  evidence  that  he  shrank  from  no  duty. 
In  1761  he  visited  Detroit  for  the  purpose  of  placing  matters  there  on  a  proper 
basis,  and  his  agents  had  for  years  traversed  the  Ohio,  the  Scioto,  the  Maumee,  and 


FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND  AND    THE  OHIO    VALLEY.  235 

other  districts  of  the  West,  collecting  information,  and  transmitting  to  him  the 
details  of  every  occurrence.  To  him  the  British  government  owed  a  heavy  debt 
of  gratitude. 

Nothing  was  more  important  in  the  readjustment  of  Indian  affairs,  and  for 
securing  their  good  will,  than  a  proper  organization  of  the  fur-trade.  Prior  to  the 
conquest  of  Canada,  the  English  traders  had  been  principally  confined  to  the  sources 
of  the  streams  flowing  into  the  Atlantic,  but  after  this  era  their  operations  were 
extended  indefinitely  west  and  north.  Under  the  French  authority  a  variety  of 
regulations  and  limitations  had  been  enforced,  extraordinary  privileges  and  monop 
olies  of  particular  districts  having  been  specially  granted.  Something  of  the  same 
kind  was  attempted  at  the  commencement  of  the  English  domination  after  the  fall 
of  Canada,  the  power  of  granting  licenses  to  trade  on  the  frontiers  having  been  at 
first  exercised  by  the  commanding  officers  of  posts.  From  the  time  of  the  capture  of 
Quebec  the  Indian  trade  had  been  in  a  state  of  confusion,  and  before  the  final  sur 
render  of  the  remote  districts  the  Indians  had  been  prevented  from  obtaining  their 
regular  supplies  of  goods,  wares,  and  merchandise,  which  had  now  become  necessary 
to  their  comfort.  They  had  long  previously  lost  their  old  arts,  and  had  become 
familiarized  to  the  use  of  metallic  cooking-vessels,  woollens,  arms,  and  ammunition. 

The  several  memoirs  and  letters  which  Sir  William  Johnson,  the  Superintendent 
of  Indian  Affairs,  addressed  to  the  Lords  of  Trade  on  the  subject  before  referred  to, 
are  good  indications  of  the  importance  he  attached  to  the  correction  of  irregularities 
in  the  fur-trade,  of  his  care  in  placing  before  the  government  the  elements  on  which 
an  equable  system  could  be  established,  and  of  his  solicitude  for  its  early  formation. 
When  the  Canadas  were  added  to  the  area  of  his  jurisdiction  it  required  some  time  to 
establish  on  a  proper  footing  the  new  relations  with  all  the  distant  tribes  which  the 
occasion  required.  His  great  object  was  to  secure  political  influence  with  the  tribes, 
and  for  this  purpose  he  had  personally  visited  Detroit,  Oswego,  and  Niagara.  He 
kept  in  pay  three  deputies,  who  traversed  a  great  part  of  the  West,  reporting  to  him 
the  result  of  their  observations  and  inquiries ;  and  in  the  New  York  publications 
now  before  us  there  is  abundant  evidence  that  he  omitted  no  occasion  of  keeping  the 
government  advised  concerning  the  true  position  of  Indian  affairs.  It  was  not  until 
after  the  return  of  the  successful  armies  of  Bradstreet  and  Bouquet,  in  the  autumn 
of  1764,  that  an  Englishman  could  with  any  safety  carry  goods  into  the  newly- 
conquered  districts.  The  very  appellation  "English  trader"  was  detested  by  the 
Northern  tribes,  and  instances  occurred  where  Englishmen  were  obliged  to  conduct 
their  operations  in  the  names  of  the  Canadian  guides  and  interpreters  in  their 
employ.  Even  the  mere  uniform  of  an  English  officer  or  soldier  was  loathed  by 
them.  "  Why,"  said  Pontiac,  in  1763,  "  do  you  suffer  those  dogs  in  red  clothing  to 
remain  on  your  land  ?" 

We  are  told  that  trade  at  Michilimackinac  began  in  1766.  In  1765,  Alexander 
Henry,  who  had  escaped  the  massacre  at  Michilimackinac,  obtained  a  license  granting 
him  the  monopoly  of  the  trade  on  Lake  Superior,  and  after  one  year's  sojourn  there 
returned,  bringing  with  him  one  hundred  and  fifty  packs  of  beaver,  each  weighing 


236  TOE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

one  hondred  pounds,  besides  other  furs.  Captain  Jonathan  Carver,1  on  his  arrival 
there  in  1766,  found  this  place  to  be  the  great  centre  of  the  English  trade.  At  first 
it  was  limited  to  Chegoimegon  and  Comenistequoia,  on  Lake  Superior,  until  Thomas 
Curry,  obtaining  guides  and  interpreters,  penetrated  as  far  as  Fort  Bourbon,  on  the 
Saskatchewan,  and  returned  the  following  year  with  his  canoes  so  amply  filled  with 
fine  furs  that  he  was  enabled  to  retire  from  the  business.  James  Finley  followed  his 
track  the  next  year  to  Nipawee,  reaping  equal  profits,  and  was  succeeded  in  the 
enterprise  by  Joseph  Frobisher.  The  way  being  thus  opened,  others  braved  the 
attendant  dangers  and  hardships,  and  ardently  pursued  the  business.  Thus  was 
inaugurated  the  Northwest  fur-trade,  which  during  half  a  century  proved  of  more 
real  value  than  any  gold-mines.  It  is  no  marvel  that  every  toil  was  encountered  in 
its  pursuit,  and  health,  and  often  life  itself,  freely  sacrificed  to  it. 

The  fur-trade  in  the  West  also  vigorously  commenced  about  this  period.  It  had 
been  carried  on,  by  means  of  pack-horses,  across  the  Alleghanies,  from  Philadelphia 
and  Baltimore  to  Fort  Pitt,  from  the  period  of  its  capture ;  but  until  after  the  return 
of  the  expedition  of  Bouquet,  in  1764,  the  territory  beyond  the  Ohio  could  not  be 
penetrated  without  incurring  the  greatest  risks.  At  length,  under  the  treaty  of 
Versailles,  British  authority  was  established  on  the  Mississippi,  and  in  September, 
1765,  Captain  Sterling  left  Fort  Pitt  for  the  Illinois,  with  one  hundred  men  of  the 
Forty -Second  Regiment,  in  boats,  and  relieved  the  French  garrison  of  Fort  Chartres. 
The  trading-posts  of  Kaskaskia,  Cahokia,  Vincennes,  and  Peoria  were  thus  brought 
within  the  defined  limits  for  trading  operations.  The  following  year  Matthew 
Clarkson  opened  a  trading  station  at  Fort  Chartres  under  the  auspices  of  a  mer 
cantile  house  in  Philadelphia. 

A  line  of  British  posts  at  this  period  extended  from  Fort  Chartres,  in  Illinois,  by 
way  of  Pittsburg,  to  Niagara,  Oswego,  and  Fort  Stanwix,  and  thence,  pursuing  the 
line  of  trade,  up  the  lake  to  Detroit  and  Michilimackinac.  The  tribes,  being  thus 
restrained,  made  no  further  efforts  to  originate  hostile  combinations.  They  had  lost 
many  men  in  the  war  which  began  in  1755 ;  they  hud  been  foiled  in  all  their  schemes, 
from  South  Carolina  to  the  Straits  of  Michigan ;  and,  although  they  had  evinced 
great  energy  and  activity  under  the  direction  of  Poutiac,  their  efforts  invariably 

1  Captain  Jonathan  Carver,  of  Connecticut,  who  had  commanded  a  company  of  provincials  in  the  French 
war  in  17G3,  undertook  the  exploration  of  the  territory  on  the  borders  of  Lake  Superior  and  the  country 
of  the  Sioux  beyond  it.  Up  to  the  time  of  his  return  to  Boston,  in  October,  1768,  during  which  period 
he  had  travelled  nearly  seven  thousand  miles,  he  had  explored  the  bays  and  rivers  opening  into  the  great 
lake,  and  had  also  obtained  accounts  of  the  great  river  Oregon,  which  flows  into  the  Pacific.  To  make  these 
discoveries  known,  as  well  as  the  richness  of  the  copper-mines  of  the  Northwest,  and  to  claim  a  reward  for 
his  services,  also  to  recommend  English  settlements  on  the  Western  shores  of  the  continent,  and  to  propose 
opening  by  aid  of  lakes  and  rivers  a  passage  across  the  continent  as  the  best  route  for  communicating  with 
China  and  the  East  Indies, — a  feat  accomplished  a  century  later  by  opening  the  Pacifio  Railroad, — Carver 
went  to  England,  where,  disappointed  in  his  efforts  for  compensation,  and  reduced  to  extreme  destitution,  he 
ended  his  days  in  1780.  His  travels  were  published  in  1778,  and  the  commiseration  awakened  by  the  story 
of  his  sufferings,  made  known  to  the  public  by  Dr.  Lettsom,  led  to  the  establishment  in  London  of  the 
"  Literary  Fund,"  a  benevolent  institution  for  the  relief  of  poor  authors. 


FRANCE  AND  EN&LAND  AND   THE  OHIO    VALLEY.  237 

resulted  in  defeat.  Such  evidences  of  the  possession  of  power  on  the  part  of  the 
British  were  also  developed  as  to  prove  to  them  that  the  lat'ar,  though  slow  in  action 
and  sometimes  erring  in  their  movements,  had  perseverance,  energy,  and  ability 
sufficient  to  baffle  all  their  efforts.  The  Indians  had  likewise  suffered  greatly  within 
a  few  years  in  the  cessation  of  trade,  which  had  been  necessarily  interrupted. 

Having  conquered  Canada,  one  of  the  first  things  necessary  for  the  management 
of  Indian  affairs  by  Great  Britain  was  to  ascertain  the  names  and  numerical  strength 
of  the  Indian  tribes  that  had  been  transferred  to  her  jurisdiction,  which  task  was 
undertaken  by  Sir  William  Johnson,  the  British  Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs. 
As  a  central  point  he  began  with  the  population  of  the  Iroquois,  who  were  then, 
and  had  long  been,  the  objects  of  his  special  care.  In  a  census  table  prepared  by 
him  in  17G3  for  the  Lords  of  Trade,  he  represents  the  number  of  men  capable  of 
bearing  arms  among  the  Mohawks  at  160,  the  Oneidas  at  250,  the  Onondagas  at 
150,  the  Cayugas  at  200,  the  Senecas  at  1050,  and  the  Tuscaroras  at  140.  He 
places  the  outlying  band  of  Oswegatchies  (Ogdensburg)  at  80,  and  the  Caugh- 
nawagas  (St.  Regis)  at  300 ;  making  a  total  of  2330  warriors,  who  (according  to  the 
usual  rules  of  computation)  would  represent  an  aggregate  population  of  11,650  souls. 
He  computes  that  of  Conoys,  Tuteloes,  Saponeys,  Nanticokes,  and  other  conquered 
and  dismembered  tribes  then  living  in  the  Iroquois  country,  there  were  200  men, 
or  1000  souls. 

After  leaving  the  area  of  New  York,  there  is  less  reliance  to  be  placed  on  the 
census,  which  was  made  up,  not  from  actual  enumeration,  but  from  the  reports  of 
persons  journeying  among  or  trading  with  the  tribes,  and  from  the  statements  of 
parties  supposed  to  be  best  informed  on  the  subject.  Sir  William  Johnson  estimates 
the  Adirondacks  at  150  men,  or  750  souls ;  the  Abenakis  at  100  men,  or  500  souls ; 
and  the  various  tribes  of  Hurons,  or  Wyandots,  of  Canada,  at  240  men,  representing 
a  population  of  1200  souls.  This  enumeration  would  allow  to  the  Indians  of  Canada 
below  Lake  Ontario,  and  to  the  Iroquois  of  New  York,  including  the  nations  con 
quered  by  them  and  residing  among  them,  2820  fighting-men,  or  14,100  souls,  a 
total  which  is  believed  to  be  a  little  above  the  actual  numbers. 

But  if  the  population  of  the  region  with  which  Sir  William  was  least  acquainted, 
namely,  the  lower  St.  Lawrence  Valley,  was  sometimes  overestimated  by  his  in 
formants,  that  of  the  Great  West,  beyond  the  Alleghanies  and  along  the  upper 
lakes,  if  we  except  errors  of  synonymes,  is  believed  to  have  been  returned  with 
excellent  judgment. 

The  attempt  to  estimate  the  numerical  force  of  the  Pontiac  confederacy  during 
that  year  must  be  considered  to  have  been  made  under  great  disadvantages.  Johnson 
had  himself  visited  Detroit,  the  seat  of  this  confederacy,  in  1761,  and  gathered  the 
elements  of  his  estimates  from  persons  resident  there. 

The  Wyandots,  or  Hurons,  of  Michigan,  are  rated  at  250  men,  or  1250  souls ; 
the  Ottawas,  dispersed  in  various  localities,  at  700  men,  or  3500  souls ;  the  Chip- 
pewas,  among  whom  are  included  the  Mississagies  of  the  region  of  Detroit,  at  320 
men ;  and  those  of  M ichil imackinac  at  400  men,  together  making  an  aggregate  of 


238  TBE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

8350.  The  Pottawatomiea  of  Detroit  are  set  down  as  comprising  150  warriors,  and 
those  of  St  Joseph  200,  both  conjoined  representing  a  population  of  1750  persons. 

In  the  valley  of  the  Ohio,  and  the  region  of  country  immediately  west  of  it,  the 
means  for  making  an  enumeration  were  more  ample  and  reliable. 

The  Shawnees  are  estimated,  with  apparently  good  judgment,  at  300  men,  or 
1500  souls ;  and  the  Delawares,  with  nearly  the  same  probable  accuracy,  at  3000 
persons,  which  would  give  them  600  fighting-men. 

The  Miamis  of  the  Wabash  Valley,  under  their  Iroquois  name  of  Twightwees, 
are  numbered  at  230  men,  the  Piankeshaws  at  100  men,  and  the  Weas  at  200  men, 
making  2650  souls.  In  the  same  general  district  there  are  enumerated  180  Kicka- 
poos  and  90  Mascoutins,  a  tribe  of  prairie  Indians  who  appear  in  all  the  earliest 
estimates,  but  who  have  since  lost  that  designation.  The  name  would  indicate  that 
they  were  Algonkins.  These  add  to  the  estimate  1350  persons. 

In  the  region  of  Green  Bay,  comprising  the  present  area  of  Wisconsin,  the 
Menomonies  are  computed  at  110  men,  or  550  souls.  This  estimate  is  duplicated 
under  their  French  synonyme  of  Folsavoins.  But,  irrespective  of  this  mistake,  the 
number  of  Menomonies  at  that  time  would  not  seem  to  be  overrated  at  1100  souls. 
The  Winnebagoes,  called  by  the  French  Puans,  are  rated  at  360  men,  or  an  aggre 
gate  of  1750  individuals,  which  is  not  excessive.  The  Sauks  are  enumerated  as 
having  300  fighting-men,  or  a  population  of  1500  souls,  a  probable  excess;  and 
the  Outagamies,  or  Foxes,  320  warriors,  or  1600  souls.  These  two  tribes  had  united 
their  fortunes  after  their  unsuccessful  attack,  in  1712,  on  the  fort  of  Detroit,  which 
act  procured  them  the  hatred  of  the  French. 

The  aggregate  of  these  enumerations  and  estimates  of  the  Western  and  Northern 
tribes  reaches  24,050  individuals.  Add  to  this  the  14,100  of  the  Eastern  or  home 
table  of  Sir  William's  superin tendency,  and  there  is  presented  a  gross  population  of 
38,150  souls.  This  does  not  include  the  Southern  tribes,  and  those  residing  on  the 
west  banks  of  the  Mississippi,  both  of  which  groups  of  tribes  were  beyond  his  juris 
diction,  and  also  outside  of  the  limits  of  the  territory  ceded  by  the  treaty  of 
Versailles,  concluded  February  10,  1763. 

Means  for  testing  this  estimate  were  furnished  by  the  respective  expeditions  of 
Bradstreet  and  Bouquet  in  1764.  The  estimate  of  the  former,  as  given  by  Major 
Mante,  related  only  to  the  tribes  assembled  at,  or  living  within,  a  circle  of  five  or  six 
days'  march  from  his  camp.  This  computation  furnished  data  for  an  aboriginal 
population  of  some  9500  persons,  of  which  number  1930  are  set  down  as  warriors. 

The  statistics  of  the  Indian  population  collected  by  Colonel  Bouquet,  and  pub 
lished  at  Philadelphia  in  1766,  proceed  to  the  other  extreme.  Instead  of  confining 
the  enumeration  to  tribes  which  were  visited,  contiguous,  or  known,  Bouquet  not 
only  extended  it  to  tribes  residing  beyond  the  region  and  outside  of  the  limits  of  the 
British  territory,  but  also  frequently,  under  various  synonymes,  duplicated  or  tripli 
cated  the  same  tribes. 

After  discarding  these  redundancies,  limiting  the  estimate  of  the  tribes  to  the 
ratio  of  that  of  Sir  William,  and  correcting  the  evident  confusion  existing  between 


FRANCE  AND  ENGLAND  AND   THE  OU1O    VALLEY. 


239 


the  number  of  fighting-men  and  the  gross  population  of  the  tribes,  as  in  the  note,1 
the  table  of  Bouquet  does  not  exhibit,  on  the  same  area,  a  great  variance  from 
the  corresponding  parts  of  the  superintendent's  list.  He  does  not  show  that  the 
entire  Indian  force  in  the  West  residing  east  of  the  Mississippi  River  numbered 
over  30,950  souls,  or  6210  fighting-men.  To  these  he  has  added  11,350  Southern 
Indians,  comprising  the  Cherokees,  Chickasaws,  Choctaws,  and  the  small  tribes  of 
the  Catawbas  and  Natchez,  who  are  estimated  at  2250  warriors.  As  if  to  evidence 
the  peril  from  which  he  had  escaped,  or  to  show  the  force  that  could  be  brought 
against  the  British  frontiers,  the  Sioux,  Kansas,  and  wild  prairie  tribes  of  Upper 
Louisiana,  west  of  the  Mississippi,  are  introduced  into  the  estimates.  Thus,  the 
entire  number  of  fighting-men  in  his  estimates  is  set  down  at  56,500,  which,  by  the 
data  he  furnishes,  would  indicate  a  gross  population  of  283,000  souls, — not  a  very 
extravagant  computation. 


1  Table  of  comparisons  between  Colonel  Bouquet  and  Sir  William  Juhnaon. 


Nipissing 400  ) 

Algonkins 300  ) 

Wjandota 300 

Chippewas 5000 

Ottawa." 900 

Mississagies 2000 

Pottawatomies 350  men. 

Puans 750 

Mascoutins _ 500 

Sauks 400 

Mianiis 350  men. 

Delaware* 600     " 

Sliawnecs. 500     " 

Kickapoos  ....< 300     " 

Weas 400 

Piankeshaws 250 

Kaskaskias. 600 

Catawbas 150 

Cherokees 2500  souls. 

Cbickasawt 750  men. 

Natches 150    " 

Choctaws 4500  souls. 


Wurka. 
300 

300 
1000 
900 
400 
350 
150 
100 
150 
350 
600 
500 
300 
400 
250 
120 
100 
500 
750 
100 
900 


MM,** 

1500 

1500 

5000 

4500 

2000 

1750 

750 

500 

750 

1750 

3000 

2500 

1500 

2000 

1250 

600 

500 

2500 

3750 

500 

4500 


PERIOD   V. 

THE  AMEBIOAH  BEVOLUTHHT. 


CHAPTER    L 

STATE    OP   THE   INDIAN    TRIBES— BRANT— ACTION  OP    CONGRESS— INVASION  OP 
CANADA,  AND  DEFEAT  AT  THE  CEDARS. 

OHIO  was  the  first  of  those  talismanic  names  which,  dating  back  as  early  as  1750, 
in  the  days  of  Franklin  and  Washington,  influenced  the  spread  of  the  American 
population  over  the  entire  West  But  the  country  so  attractive  to  a  civilized  people 
was  in  possession  of  fierce,  savage  tribes,  who  flitted  through  the  wilderness  like  the 
genii  of  Arabic  fable,  acknowledging  neither  the  laws  of  God  nor  those  of  man. 
England  was  the  first  to  teach  to  such  of  these  Western  tribes  as  hovered  around  her 
colonies  the  principles  of  industry,  arts,  and  letters,  and  the  incalculable  advantages 
of  the  habits  of  civilization  over  barbarism.  She  was  the  first,  also,  by  the  aid  of 
her  fleets  and  armies,  to  bring  these  savage  hordes  to  effectual  terms,  and  to  make 
them  aware  that  the  plough  was  superior  to  the  tomahawk.  She  exercised  super 
vision  over  a  wide  and  exposed  frontier  through  the  medium  of  lines  of  forts  and 
agencies,  and  re-established  on  better  principles  the  fur-trade,  that  powerful  stimulus 
to  energetic  action  among  the  Indians.  But  after  effecting  this  object  by  a  lavish 
expenditure  of  blood  and  treasure,  and  after  having  compelled  the  savages  to  ac 
knowledge  the  British  sway,  this  power  would  seem  to  have  been  acquired  by 
Britain  only  that  it  might  be  wielded  against  the  Americans ;  for,  after  controlling 
this  Indian  influence  during  the  brief  period  of  fifteen  years,  it  was  directed  against 
the  colonies  by  the  mother-country,  and  proved,  if  not  one  of  the  most  potent,  at 
least  one  of  the  most  inhuman  auxiliaries  of  a  despotic  government  in  its  efforts  to 
coerce  and  crush  a  brave  and  liberty-loving  people. 

To  ascertain  the  precise  strength  of  this  Indian  force  had  been  an  object  with  the 
British  government  after  the  conquest  of  Canada,  and  it  also  became  a  point  of  much 
moment  to  the  colonies  on  the  breaking  out  of  the  Revolution.  The  results  of  the 
efforts  made  by  the  British  authorities  to  determine  their  numbers  have  just  been 
stated.  The  first  reliable  estimates  obtained  by  the  colonies  were  made  under  the 
auspices  of  the  War  Department  while  the  government  was  located  at  Philadelphia. 
The  elements  of  the  following  schedule  are  extant  in  the  handwriting  of  Mr.  Madison : 
240 


THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION. 


241 


FORCE  OF  THK  INDIAN  NATIONS  ON   THE  OCCURRENCE  OF  THE  AMERICAN 

REVOLDTION. 
L  IBOQUOIS. 

TribM.  W.rri,,™.  Orai  Pop.  Locality. 

Mohawks 100  500  Mohawk  Valley. 

Oncidas  and  Ttucaroras 400  2000  Oneida  County,  New  York. 

Onondagas 230  1150  Onondaga  Castle,  etc.,  New  York. 

Cayugas 220  1100  Cayuga  Lake,  etc.,          «       « 

Senecas ._ 650  3250  Seneca  Lake  to  Niagara, "       " 

1600  8000 

II.  IKOQUOIS  or  THE  WIST. 
Wyandots ._ 180  900    Detroit  and  Sandnsky. 

III.  ALGONKINS. 

Ottawa* 450  2,250  Miami  River  to  Michilimackinac. 

Chippewas „ 6,000  25,000  Lakes  Huron,  Michigan,  and  Superior. 

Mississagies 250  1,250  North  of  the  lakes. 

Pottawatomies . 450  2,250  Detroit,  St.  Joseph's,  and  Wabasb. 

Miamis 300  1,500  St.  Joseph's  of  Miami,  etc. 

Piankcshaws,  ~\ 

Weas,  under  the  name  of    >  800  4,000  Wabash  River,  etc. 

Musketoons,  etc.  ' 

Menomonies 2,000  10,000  West  of  Lake  Michigan,  etc. 

Shawnees 300  1,500  Ohio,  etc.,  hare  been  exceedingly  active. 

Delawares, ) _  600  3QQQ  Muskingnm.  etc. 

Munaees     ) 

10,150  60,750 

IT.  DAKOTA*. 
Sioux 500  2500    Upper  Mississippi. 

Y.  APPALACHIANS. 

AvtkotttlM. 

Cherokees 500  2,500  Hutchins,  vol.  iii.  p.  555. 

Chickasaws 150  750  "  ««  « 

ChocUiwB 900  4,500  Smith,  «  « 

Catawbas 150  750  Hntchins,  "  « 

Natchet 150  750  "  «  « 

Muscocees     I  Alabamas ^ 600  3,000  «  «  « 

(Cowetas 700  3,500  «  «  n 

3150  15,750 

RECAPITULATION. 

Wuiiom  Ofwi  PopnUUo*. 

1.  Iroqnois  of  New  York 1,600  8,000 

2.  Iroqnoia  of  the  West 180  900 

3.  Algonkins '. ,. 10,150  50,750 

4.  Dakotas 500  2^00 

6.  AppalachiuM,  Southern  tribes ..  3,150  15,760 


11—31 


15,580 


77,900 


242  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

It  is  evident  from  scanning  these  details  that  access  had  been  obtained  to  persons 
conversant  with  the  locations  and  population  of  the  Indian  tribes.  Compared  with 
the  more  general  estimates  of  Bouquet,  made  in  1764,  they  present  a  commendable 
approach  to  accuracy.  If  the  strength  of  some  tribes  is  overrated,  that  of  others 
is  correspondingly  underrated,  leaving  the  average  of  the  Indian  force  that  could 
by  any  probability  be  brought  into  the  field  very  near  the  true  standard.  The 
Sioux,  for  instance,  might  with  a  much  nearer  approach  to  accuracy  have  been 
rated  at  10,000,  but  there  was  no  probability  that  more  than  500  warriors  could, 
under  the  most  favorable  circumstances,  be  brought  into  action.  In  fact,  it  is 
believed  that  in  those  days  not  a  man  of  that  stock  had  ever  drawn  a  bow  against 
the  whites,  unless  it  be  possible  that  stray  warriors  of  their  ethnological  con 
nection  the  Winnebagoes  had  wandered  to  Wyoming  or  Stanwix.  The  Iroquois 
Six  Nations  are  enumerated  as  having  350  warriors  less  than  they  are  rated  in  the 
estimate  of  Sir  William  Johnson,  made  in  1763 ;  but  the  later  estimate  probably  a 
little  underrates  their  actual  decline  in  thirteen  years  under  the  combined  influence 
of  trade  and  alcohol.  The  Chippewas  are  overestimated  at  5000  men,  for  the 
report  covers  only  a  limited  area  of  their  lands,  without  tracing  their  scattered  bands 
over  a  very  wide  and  remote  field.  The  enumeration  of  the  Menomonies,  who 
occupied  the  present  area  of  Wisconsin,  is  also,  under  any  circumstances,  in  excess ; 
but  this  very  nomadic  people  were  in  the  habit  of  hunting  over  an  extended  terri 
tory  on  the  upper  Mississippi,  where  they  were  accompanied  by  their  intimate  asso 
ciates  the  Sauks,  who  have  no  place  in  the  estimate.  The  Foxes,  the  Kickapoos, 
and  their  allies  the  Mascoutins,  the  aggregate  population  of  which  three  tribes  is 
computed  at  2950  in  Johnson's  tables,  are  also  entirely  left  out  in  this  estimate,  so 
that  what  was  overrated  on  the  one  hand  was,  with  a  considerable  approach  to  accu 
racy,  counterbalanced  on  the  other.  Nor  is  it  probable,  as  Mr.  Madison  has  stated 
in  a  note  attached  to  the  estimate,  that  his  aggregate  of  12,430  warriors  was  above 
the  truth,  or  that  this  number  of  Indians  was  employed  in  the  contest.  It  has  been 
estimated  that  the  number  of  fighting  Indians  employed  by  Great  Britain  during 
the  Revolutionary  War  was  770. 

Congress,  after  its  primary  organization,  placed  the  subject  of  the  Indian  inter 
course  in  the  hands  of  commissioners,  under  the  direction  of  the  Secretary  of  War. 
The  trust  was  an  arduous  one,  perpetually  fluctuating  in  its  aspects,  and  requiring 
great  knowledge  of  the  Indian  character,  as  well  as  an  accurate  conception  of  the 
geographical  features  and  natural  resources  of  the  country.  It  was  evident  from  the 
first  that  the  Six  Nations  would  side  with  the  mother-country,  from  whom  it  was 
earnestly  desired  to  detach  them,  and  to  persuade  them  to  remain  neuter  in  the 
contest  This  was  the  policy  prescribed  by  Washington,  and  was  urged  upon  them 
by  Rev.  Samuel  Kirkland,  who  resided  among  the  Oneidas.  He  was  charged  person 
ally  by  the  President  to  impress  upon  them  the  importance  of  pursuing  a  neutral 
line  of  policy ;  for  then,  no  matter  which  party  proved  triumphant,  the  Indian 
interests  would  not  receive  injury ;  but  if  they  were  involved  in  the  struggle,  their 
interests  would  be  likely  to  suffer.  This  reasoning  prevailed  with  the  Oneidas  and 


THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION.  243 

Christian  Indians  under  the  energetic  and  popular  chief  Skenandoah.     A  portion 
of  the  Tuscaroras  also  sided  with  the  Americans. 

The  ancient  tribe  of  Mohicans  of  the  Housatonic,  whose  history  has  been  im 
pressed  upon  popular  memory  by  their  long  residence  at  Stockbridge,  Massachusetts, 
had  been  for  a  long  period  classed  among  the  followers  of  the  gospel,  but,  as  the 
martial  spirit  of  the  era  aroused  all  their  warrior  feelings,  they  enlisted  themselves  on 
the  side  of  the  colonies,  and  furnished  an  efficient  company  of  spies  and  flankers  for 
the  American  army.  About  fifty  of  them  were  encamped  at  Watertown  during  the 
siege  of  Boston. 

Directing  the  view  to  the  West,  there  was  but  little  encouragement  in  the  pros 
pect.  The  Delawares,  who  had  finally  abandoned  Central  Pennsylvania  in  1749, 
influenced  thereto  partly  by  annoyance  at  the  continued  encroachments  of  the  set- 
tlerH,  but  more  by  fear  of  the  Iroquoia  tomahawk,  were  arrayed  in  opposition  to  the 
colonies. 

The  Shawnecs,  who  claim  a  remote  Southern  origin,  appear  to  have  divided  in 
their  primary  emigration  to  the  North,  a  part  of  the  tribe  pursuing  the  route  within 
the  range  of  the  Alleghanies  to  the  territory  of  the  Leuni  Lenape,  or  Delawares, 
directly  north,  and  a  part  descending  the  Kanawha  to  the  Ohio  Valley,  whence  they 
ascended  the  Scioto  River  to  Chillicothe,  which  became  their  Western  centre.  Others 
located  themselves  a  little  below  the  influx  of  the  Wabash,  at  a  spot  now  called 
Shawneetown,  Illinois. 

There  is  a  circumstance  of  much  interest  connected  with  the  history  of  this  tribe. 
According  to  the  account  of  the  Mohican  chief  Metoxon,  that  tribe  was  originally 
connected  with  the  Delawares,  but,  being  a  restless  and  quarrelsome  people,  had 
involved  themselves  in  inextricable  troubles  while  in  the  South,  and,  in  the  chiefs 
language,  had  returned  to  sit  again  between  the  feet  of  their  grandfather. 

Those  of  the  tribe  who  had  rtv.chcd  their  ethnological  afliliated  relatives  the  Dela 
wares  had  either  preceded  the  latter,  or  accompanied  them,  across  the  Alleghanies. 

That  portion  of  the  Senecas,  and  of  other  tribes  of  the  Iroquois,  who  had  emi 
grated  West,  or  who  possibly  held  a  footing  there  from  remote  times,  were  called 
Mingoes.1  They  were  regarded  as  generally  taking  part  with  the  Western  Indians 
in  their  hostilities.  When  Washington  visited  their  chief  Tanaoharisson,  at  Logs- 
town,  in  1753,  this  sachem  expressed  himself  as  being  friendly  to  the  Virginians, 
and  it  is  believed  that  this  particular  branch  of  them  were  not  included  among  those 
who  formed  the  ambuscade  against  general  Braddock  three  years  subsequently. 

Of  the  Chippewas,  Ottawas,  Mississagies,  and  other  Algonkin  nations  embraced 
in  the  preceding  estimate,  it  is  not  known  or  believed  that  any  of  them  were  friendly 
to  the  American  cause.  They  had  been  firm  friends  of  the  French,  but  after  the 
offence  which  lias  been  mentioned  they  transferred  their  allegiance  to  the  British. 
It  requires  to  be  noticed,  however,  that  being  more  remote  from  the  scene  of  conflict 

-  -     -  -       -  --        •  .    _  --!••.    IMH-    -•!-«-!           . _^^^__^__J^^^__^__^_^___^  , 

1  Mr.  Heckewelder  inform*  a*  that  thia  term  U  derived  from  Meogwe,  the  DoUware  name  for  the  Six 
Nation*,  and  that  the  Dutch  term  Maaqua  ia  derived  from  the  same  source. — Phil.  Trans.,  ToL  i.,  Hut.  lad. 


244  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

than  any  other  tribe,  if  we  except  the  Mississagies  of  Canada,  there  was  only  one 
point  from  which  they  could  have  been  employed  against  the  Americans,  viz.,  from 
the  central  location  of  Fort  Niagara,  which  was  officially  visited  by  the  Western 
tribes,  even  from  Michilimackinac  and  Lake  Superior.  Sir  William  Johnson  died 
in  1774,  about  the  time  of  the  occurrence  of  the  tea  riot  in  Boston.  The  title 
and  office  descended  to  his  son  John,  whose  mansion  at  Johnstown  having  been 
taken  in  January,  1776,  by  a  body  of  New  York  militia  under  Generals  Schuyler 
and  Heikimer,  and  himself  placed  on  his  parole,  he  fled  to  Canada,  carrying  with 
him  the  Mohawk  tribe.  Subsequently  Fort  Niagara  became  the  seat  of  the  royal 
influence,  where  marauding,  plundering,  and  scalping  parties  were  organized,  to  use 
the  expressive  epithet  of  Sir  John's  father,  "  painted  and  feathered"  for  war. 

The  seven  hundred  and  seventy  tomahawks  and  the  like  number  of  scalping- 
knives  which  the  British  Indians  could  wield  in  this  war  with  the  colonies  were 
actively  employed  on  the  frontier  settlers  of  New  York,  Pennsylvania,  and  Virginia. 
The  savages  were  incited  to  greater  activity  in  their  bloody  deeds  by  rewards  paid 
for  the  scalps  of  the  unfortunate  victims.  For  a  handful  of  energetic  but  undis 
ciplined  militia  to  oppose  a  powerful  nation  on  the  seaboard,  possessing  as  she  did 
every  means  of  offence  that  ships  and  armies  could  furnish,  was  a  great  and  hazardous 
undertaking,  but  to  encounter  the  Indians  at  the  same  time  on  the  frontiers  required 
a  skilful  policy.  There  was  a  twofold  enemy  to  cope  with.  It  had  occupied  Eng 
land,  with  all  her  influence  and  political  tact,  backed  by  all  her  means,  a  period  of 
fifteen  years  to  wean  the  affections  of  the  tribes  from  the  French  and  to  attach  them 
to  the  British  crown.  All  this  the  colonies  now  attempted  to  undo.  The  Indians 
were  told  that  the  colonies  had  taken  up  the  mace,  and  had  begun  to  wield  the 
sovereignty  against  the  mother  country  ;  that  it  was  a  contest  of  son  against  father. 
By  the  British  party  it  was  represented  that  the  Americans  were  weak  in  numbers, 
as  well  as  impoverished  in  finances,  and  that  their  generals  and  leaders  were  destined 
to  pay  the  forfeit  of  their  rebellion  on  the  gallows.  The  Indian,  being  no  casuist,  no 
statesman,  no  judge  of  the  justice  or  of  the  rights  of  nations,  thought  that  the 
oldest,  the  strongest,  and  the  wisest  should  prevail,  and  therefore  he  resolved  to  fight 
on  the  side  of  Britain.  Fifteen  years  had  elapsed  after  the  fall  of  Canada  before  the 
English  were  enabled  to  secure  the  friendship  of  the  Indians  and  to  cement  their 
interests ;  it  was  consequently  impossible  to  effect  a  sudden  rupture  between  them. 
They  neither  understood  nor  appreciated  the  principles  involved  in  the  contest, 
which  was  represented  to  them,  by  those  whose  interest  it  was  to  do  so,  as  a  family 
quarrel  between  a  father  and  a  son ;  and,  so  far  as  we  can  collate  their  expressed 
opinions,  they  contended  that  the  father  was  in  the  right.  But,  whether  in  the  right 
or  in  the  wrong,  they  believed  the  British  to  be  the  stronger,  the  wealthier,  and  the 
most  willing  and  able  to  benefit  them.  The  Americans,  it  was  urged,  would  be  very 
likely  to  trench  upon  their  rights  by  locating  themselves  upon  their  lands,  though 
the  Indians  had  need  of  but  little  for  the  purpose  of  cultivation,  which  they  regarded 
as  one  of  the  heresies  of  civilization.  They  merely  required  the  domain  that  on  it 
might  be  raised  deer,  bears,  and  beaver,  which  animals  the  migrations  from  the 


THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION.  245 

Atlantic  shores,  already  beginning  to  cross  the  Alleghanies,  would  drive  away. 
They  lived  on  the  flesh  of  these  animals,  and  by  the  sale  of  the  skins  and  furs  they 
procured  all  else  that  was  necessary  to  their  subsistence.  This  was  a  popular  strain, 
on  which  their  speakers  could  dilate.  They  had  frequently  spoken  to  Warrahiagey 
on  the  subject,  and  opposed  the  concessions  of  lands  on  the  banks  of  the  rivers 
flowing  into  the  Atlantic,  made  to  the  colonists  by  the  British  governors.  They 
asserted  that  these  patented  lands  were  theirs,  and  had  never  been  sold.  It  was  an 
old  theme,  which  had  now  been  invested  with  renewed  vitality. 

To  conciliate  the  tribes,  therefore,  became  the  cherished  policy  of  the  revolted 
colonies.  The  Americans  represented  to  them  that  they  were  not  parties  to  the 
contest,  and  that  no  matter  who  succeeded  they  could  only  be  subordinates.  They 
were,  therefore,  counselled  to  neutrality,  which,  however,  required  a  stretch  of 
ratiocination  beyond  their  ability.  The  Indian  character  is  formed  by  war,  war  is 
the  high-road  to  honor  and  renown,  and  even  those  tribes  which  had  professed  their 
belief  in  the  truths  of  Christianity  could  not  be  wholly  restrained  from  taking  up 
the  tomahawk. 

The  Mohicans  of  Stockbridge,  as  we  have  said,  ranged  themselves  on  the  side  of 
the  Americans,  and  performed  good  service  as  scouts  throughout  the  contest.  The 
Oneidas  did  the  same.  The  voice  of  the  popular  chief  Skenandoah  was  heard  in 
favor  of  the  rising  colonies,  and  the  watchful  attention  and  quick  eye  of  Attatea, 
known  as  Colonel  Louis,  carefully  noted  the  approach  of  hostile  footsteps  during  the 
great  struggle  of  1777,  and  gave  every  day  the  most  reliable  information  of  the  march 
and  position  of  the  enemy.  The  residue  of  the  Six  Nations  acted  the  part  of  fierce 
foes  along  the  frontiers.  The  Shawnees  and  Delawares  were  also  cruel  enemies. 
Their  fealty  to  the  British  cause,  it  was  asserted,  was  further  cemented  by  a  promise 
that  their  allies  would  stand  by  them  and  would  never  consent  to  a  peace  which  did 
not  make  the  Ohio  River  the  boundary  of  the  colonies. 

Fortunately  for  the  cause  of  humanity,  the  great  battles  of  the  Revolution  were 
fought  on  the  open  plains  and  cultivated  parts  of  the  country,  which,  being  denuded 
of  forests,  were  unfavorable  to  the  employment  of  Indian  auxiliaries.  The  battles 
of  Concord  and  Bunker  Hill,  Guilford,  Long  Island,  White  Plains,  Saratoga,  Mon- 
mouth,  Trenton,  Camden,  King's  Mountain,  the  Cowpens,  Brandywine,  Germantown, 
and  Yorktown,  were  the  great  features  of  the  conflict.  But  wherever  a  detached 
column  was  marched  through  forests,  or  occupied  an  isolated  fort,  the  war-cry 
resounded,  and  the  details  of  the  war  give  evidence  that  there  were  other  and  more 
dreaded  enemies  to  be  encountered  than  the  sword  and  the  bayonet,  the  cannon  and 
the  bomb. 

The  superior  military  skill  and  success  of  the  Iroquois  gave  them  a  prominent 
position  in  Indian  warfare.  At  the  period  of  the  Revolution,  circumstances  had 
placed  them  under  the  sway  of  the  noted  and  energetic  chief  Thayendanagea,  more 
familiarly  known  as  Joseph  Brant.  We  have  the  speculations  of  an  ingenious  and 
ready  writer,  who  labors  to  prove  that  Brant  was  by  the  regular  line  of  descent  a 
Mohawk  chieftain.  It  is,  however,  certain  that  he  was  not  the  son  of  a  chief,  and 


246  TBE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

by  the  Iroquoia  laws  of  descent  he  could  not  be  a  chief  if  the  son  of  a  chief,  the 
right  of  inheritance  being  exclusively  vested  in  the  female  line.  Brant  was,  in 
fact,  a  self-made  man,  owing  his  position  to  his  native  energy,  talents,  and  edu 
cation.  The  Mohawks  had  lost  their  last  and  greatest  sachem,  Soiengarahta,  called 
King  Hendrick,  in  1755,  at  the  battle  of  Lake  George.  Little  Abraham,  who 
succeeded  him  in  authority,  was  a  man  of  excellent  sense  and  fine  talents,  but 
possessed  no  reputation  as  a  warrior.  The  institutions  of  the  Iroquois  were  guarded 
by  many  rules  and  regulations  prescribed  by  their  councils  and  customs,  but  they 
were,  nevertheless,  of  a  democratic  character,  and  under  the  sway  of  popular  opinion 
recognized  and  rewarded  great  talent  and  bravery.  In  1776  no  one  could  compete 
with  Brant  in  these  qualifications.  In  addition  to  his  natural  physical  and  mental 
energy,  he  had  been  well  educated  in  early  life,  could  read  fluently,  and  was  a  ready 
writer.  Raised  under  the  eye  and  the  influence  of  Sir  William  Johnson,  he  never 
dreamed  of  questioning  the  fact  that  Great  Britain  was  beyond  all  other  nations 
powerful,  strong,  and  wise,  and  must  prevail.  He  crossed  the  ocean  in  February, 
1776,  and  offered  to  the  British  Secretary,  Germaine,  the  support  of  the  Six  Nations 
"  to  chastise  the  New  England  people." 

In  June,  1775,  a  petition  was  laid  before  the  Continental  Congress  from  settlers 
in  Western  Virginia,  who,  "  fearing  a  rupture"  with  the  Indians,  desired  that  com 
missioners  might  attend  a  meeting  of  the  Indians  at  Pittsburg  on  behalf  of  the 
colonies  of  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania.  Congress  at  the  same  time  made  provision 
for  the  appointment  of  boards  of  commissioners  to  superintend  Indian  affairs  in 
behalf  of  the  colonies.  It  designated  three  Indian  departments, — the  Northern, 
Southern,  and  Middle ;  the  first  to  embrace  all  the  Six  Nations  and  all  the  Indians 
northward  of  them ;  the  second  to  include  the  Cherokees  and  all  to  the  south  of 
.  them ;  and  the  third  to  include  all  between  the  other  two  departments.  These  com 
missioners  were  empowered  to  treat  with  the  Indians  in  the  name  and  on  behalf  of 
.  the  colonies,  with  the  object  of  preserving  peace  and  friendship  with  them,  to  seize 
and  confine  any  of  the  agents  of  Great  Britain  found  inciting  them  to  acts  of  hos 
tility,  and  also  to  expend  moneys  appropriated  for  their  benefit.  In  the  following 
year  Congress  passed  resolutions  to  import  suitable  Indian  goods  to  the  amount 
of  forty  thousand  pounds  sterling,  to  regulate  all  details  of  trade  with  them,  and 
that  the  Commissioners  of  Indian  Affairs  be  directed  to  consider  of  proper  plans 
in  their  respective  departments  for  the  residence  of  ministers  and  school-masters 
for  the  propagation  of  the  gospel  and  the  cultivation  of  the  civil  arts  among  the 
Indians. 

In  March,  1778,  Congress  resolved  that  General  Washington  be  empowered,  "  if 
he  thinks  it  prudent  and  proper,"  to  employ  four  hundred  Indians  in  the  service  of 
the  United  States,  and  at  the  same  time  Brigadier-General  Mclntosh  was  directed  to 
assemble  at  Fort  Pitt  fifteen  hundred  Continental  troops  and  militia,  and  "  proceed 
without  delay  to  destroy  such  towns  of  the  hostile  tribes  as  he  in  his  discretion  shall 
think  will  most  effectually  tend  to  chastise  and  terrify  the  savages,  and  to  check  their 
ravages  on  the  frontiers."  This  latter  resolution  was  prompted  by  the  incursion  into 


THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION.  247 

Wyoming  by  "  Senecas,  Tories,  and  other  banditti,"  and  rumors  that  other  similar 
expeditions  were  in  contemplation. 

During  the  invasion  of  Canada,  in  the  spring  of  1776,  a  body  of  three  hundred 
and  ninety  Americans,  under  Colonel  Bedell,  of  New  Hampshire,  occupied  a  small 
post  at  the  "  Cedars,"  a  village  on  the  north  side  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  fifteen  miles 
above  Montreal.  Early  in  May  a  detachment  from  Detroit,  under  Captain  Forster, 
of  one  hundred  and  forty  Canadians  and  regulars,  and  five  hundred  Indians,  under 
Brant,  appeared  before  it,  and  in  the  absence  of  Bedell  summoned  Major  Butterfield, 
its  commander,  to  surrender.  The  fort  and  garrison  were  at  once  given  up  by  the 
cowardly  mnjor.  Meanwhile,  Major  Henry  Sherburne,  who  had  been  sent  to  its 
relief,  ignorant  of  its  surrender,  while  approaching  the  fort  fell  into  an  ambuscade, 
and  the  entire  party  was  either  killed  or  captured. 

As  soon  as  General  Arnold,  upon  whom  the  command  in  Canada  devolved  on  the 
fall  of  Montgomery,  heard  of  these  disasters,  he  marched  with  seven  hundred  men 
to  chastise  the  enemy  and  release  the  prisoners.  Arriving  at  St.  Annis,  he  received 
positive  assurances  from  the  British  commander  that  if  he  persisted  in  his  design 
of  attacking  him  it  would  be  out  of  his  power  to  prevent  the  savages  from  putting 
their  prisoners,  four  hundred  and  seventy-four  in  number,  to  death.  Major  Sher 
burne  confirmed  the  statement  that  a  massacre  had  already  been  agreed  on.  A  cartel 
for  an  exchange  of  prisoners  was  signed.  Congress  refused  to  ratify  this  agreement 
coercing  its  officers  by  suspending  the  bloody  Indian  hatchet  over  their  heads,  except 
upon  such  terms  as  the  British  government  would  never  assent  to.  The  waters  of 
oblivion  were,  however,  allowed  to  flow  over  the  transaction.  The  prisoners  were 
finally  released  by  General  Carleton,  aud  the  hostages  at  Quebec  were  sent  home 
on  parole. 


CHAPTER   IL 

THE   JOHNSONS— ST.  LEOKR    INVADES    NEW  YORK— FORT  8TANWIX— BATTLE  OF 

ORISKANY. 

SIB  WILLIAM  JOHNSON  died  suddenly,  from  the  effects  of  an  attack  of  apoplexy, 
in  the  year  1774,  at  a  time  when  reflecting  minds  deemed  a  speedy  rapture  between 
the  colonies  and  the  British  crown  inevitable.  This  gentleman  had  been  forty  years 
in  rising  to  that  position  in  Indian  affairs  which  left  him  no  rival  or  peer  in  America. 
During  about  twenty  years  of  this  period  he  had  been  the  official  head  of  the  Indian 
department  in  America,  being  commissioned  by  the  crown  and  acknowledged  by  all 
the  commanding  generals.  Intimately  acquainted  with  the  mental  characteristics, 
the  wants,  the  wishes,  and  the  fears  of  the  Indians,  he  had,  as  it  were,  with  one  hand 
wielded  the  power  of  government  in  keeping  them  in  subjection  to  the  laws,  and 
with  the  other  exercised  the  duties  of  a  Mentor  in  teaching  them  how  to  promote 
their  own  best  interests.  ~"No  man  in  the  whole  scope  of  our  colonial  history  can  be 
compared  to  him.  He  had  a  presentiment  of  his  death,  which  occurred  at  a  most 
critical  period.  Great  Britain  had  lavishedim  him  high  honors,  and  he  was  held  in 
the  highest  respect  by  the  Indians. 

Those  who  have  investigated  the  proceedings  and  the  character  of  Sir  John 
Johnson,  his  son  and  successor,  of  Guy  Johnson,  his  deputy,  of  Colonel  Claus,  and 
of  the  various  subordinates  who  thenceforth  controlled  the  direction  of  Indian  affairs, 
have  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  this  important  interest  was  managed  in  a  bad  way 
if  their  object  was  to  serve  the  crown.  The  encouragement  of  murders  and  massacres 
was  well  calculated  to  arouse  the  deepest  hostility  of  the  colonists  and  to  cement 
them  in  the  closest  bonds  of  unity  against  the  oppressions  of  the  British.  Numbers 
of  persons  previously  lukewarm  in  the  cause  were  driven  to  take  an  active  part  in 
the  contest  by  deeds  of  blood  and  Indian  atrocity.  The  several  conferences  held  in 
the  office  of  the  British  Indian  Department  during  the  years  1775  and  1776  proved 
the  incapacity  of  Sir  William's  successors  to  control  great  events.  The  Six  Nations 
were  as  a  body  the  friends  of  the  British,  and  did  not  like  to  see  their  officials,  in 
public  councils,  and  by  public  letters  to  committees  and  corporations,  palliating  or 
denying  acts  which  they  had  secretly  approved  and  had  stimulated  them  to  perform. 
Guy  Johnson,  the  Deputy  Superintendent,  and  his  sulxmlinates,  tampered  with  the 
authorities,  and  became  involved  in  inextricable  difficulties,  evincing  little  discretion 
or  devotion  to  the  best  interests  of  the  Mohawks.  The  jarring  elements  of  that 
period  could  not  be  pacified  by  duplicity,  and  Sir  John  fled  with  the  Indians,  first 
to  Fort  Stanwix,  then  to  Oswego,  and  finally  to  Niagara,  which  became  the  active 
248 


THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION.  249 

head-quarters  of  the  Indian  superintendency,  and  the  rendezvous  for  their  marauding 
and  scalping  parties. 

The  colonial  public  was  at  this  time  in  a  furor  of  excitement,  the  people  impelling 
their  local  governments  to  vigorous  action.  The  error  of  the  British  government, 
from  first  to  last,  was  its  rigid  adherence  to  its  ideal  rights  of  sovereignty,  conceding 
nothing  itself,  but  demanding  from  the  colonies  the  most  unqualified  submission.  It 
was  ready  to  forgive  and  pardon,  but  never  to  redress  grievances  while  possessing  the 
power  to  coerce.  The  policy  adopted  at  St.  James's  palace  was  carried  out  at  John 
son  Hall  and  at  every  intermediate  point,  the  British  maxim  being  that  the  weak 
must  submit  to  the  strong,  and  that  might  makes  right.  No  sooner  had  the 
Mohawks,  Tuscaroras,  Onondagas,  and  Cayugas  migrated  with  the  fugitive  Indian 
Department,  and  rallied  with  the  powerful  Senecas  around  their  superintendent  in 
Fort  Niagara,  than  efforts  were  made  to  induce  the  Iroquois  to  attack  the  border 
settlements.  During  a  conference  with  the  Indians  at  Oswego,  Guy  Johnson  had 
excited  them  to  take  up  the  hatchet  against  the  Americans  by  inviting  them  to  come 
and  drink  the  blood  of  an  American  and  feast  on  his  roasted  body.  This  expression, 
although  but  an  Indian  figure  of  speech  for  an  invitation  to  a  feast  of  an  ordinary 
character,  furnished  a  formidable  weapon  to  the  Revolutionists,  who  construed  its 
meaning  literally,  and  represented  the  deputy  superintendent  as  a  monster  of  cruelty 
in  thus  rousing  these  savages  to  action. 

The  first  incursion  of  this  kind  was  the  expedition  of  Colonel  Barry  St.  Leger 
against  the  inhabitants  of  the  Mohawk  Valley. 

The  year  1777  has  been  made  ever  memorable  by  the  expedition  of  General 
Burgoyne,  whose  coming  was  heralded  by  a  threat  to  march  through  the  country  and 
crush  it  at  a  blow.  A  fine  and  well-appointed  army  of  ten  thousand  men,  indeed, 
appeared  to  be  sufficient  of  itself  to  make  the  people  quail ;  but  it  was  accompanied  by 
hordes  of  the  long-separated,  but  now  reconciled,  Algonkins  and  Iroquois,  who  ranged 
over  the  country  not  as  auxiliaries  on  the  field  of  battle,  but  to  destroy  the  quiet  of 
domestic  life  by  their  devastations,  and  to  chill  the  heart's  blood  of  the  colonists  by 
their  atrocities.  The  fate  of  Miss  Jane  McCrea  may  serve  as  an  incident  to  illustrate 
the  singular  barbarity  of  this  warfare,  and  its  effects  on  the  popular  mind.  Bur 
goyne  was  proud  of  his  management  of  the  Indians,  of  whom  he  had  detachments 
from  seventeen  tribes.  On  the  3d  of  August  they  brought  in  twenty  scalps,  and  as 
many  captives,  and  Burgoyne  praised  their  activity.  The  Ottawas  wished  to  return 
home,  but  on  the  5th  of  August  he  took  a  pledge  from  all  the  warriors  to  stay 
through  the  campaign. 

Simultaneously  with  the  invasion  of  the  northeastern  borders  of  New  York  by 
Burgoyne,  St.  Leger,  accompanied  by  a  compact  body  of  regulars,  a  park  of  artil 
lery,  and  a  large  number  of  Indians  under  Sir  John  Johnson,  entered  it  from  the 
west  In  addition  to  these,  Lieutenant-Governor  Hamilton,  of  Detroit,  in  obedience 
to  orders  from  the  British  Secretary  of  State,  Germaine,  sent  out  at  different  times 
fifteen  several  parties,  aggregating  two  hundred  and  fifty-nine  warriors,  with  thirty 
white  officers  and  rangers,  to  desolate  the  frontiers  of  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia. 

ii— 32 


250  TIIE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

St.  Leger  left  Oswego  with  a  total  force  of  seventeen  hundred  men,  including  one 
thousand  Indians,  the  latter  consisting  chiefly  of  Senecas,  Tuscaroras,  Mississagies, 
— an  Algonkin  tribe  nearly  identical  with  the  Chippewas,  from  the  northern  end 
of  Lake  Ontario, — and  fugitive  Mohawks,  from  the  Mohawk  Valley,  under  Thayen- 
danagea,  or  Brant,  who  now  began  to  take  a  more  active  part  in  the  contest.  In  his 
youth  he  had  been  a  pupil  at  Dr.  Wheelock's  school,  was  employed  as  an  interpreter 
and  translator  at  the  missionary  station  at  Fort  Hunter,  and  also  as  an  under  secre 
tary  at  Johnson  Hall.  As  the  active  and  influential  brother  of  the  Indian  wife  of 
Sir  William,  he  had  been  constantly  rising  in  the  esteem  of  his  people,  until  he 
assumed  the  position  of  popular  leader,  when  he  became  the  hero  of  the  Iroquois. 
He  combined  with  great  personal  activity  and  a  fine  manly  figure  a  good  common 
education,  undoubted  bravery,  and  an  intimate  acquaintance  with  the  manners  and 
customs  of  civilization,  and,  what  was  of  still  more  importance  to  his  success,  he 
possessed  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  geographical  features  and  population  of  the 
Mohawk  Valley  and  its  environs,  together  with  a  good  idea  of  their  power,  dispo 
sition,  and  resources.  He  was  thus  by  no  means  a  feeble  enemy.  Although  lacking 
that  comprehensive  judgment  which  was  necessary  to  form  an  estimate  of  the  true 
character  of  the  contest,  and  the  unflinching  nerve  and  decision  requisite  for  the 
control  of  events,  yet  he  was,  after  the  death  of  Sir  William,  fully  equal  in  these 
particulars  to  Sir  John  Johnson  and  the  other  managers  of  British  Indian  affairs. 
But  he  possessed  in  perfection  all  the  subtlety,  subterfuge,  and  art,  and,  when  he 
grasped  the  tomahawk  in  active  war,  all  the  cruelty,  of  the  forest  savage. 

St.  Leger,  who  was  to  sweep  the  valley  of  the  Mohawk  and  then  join  Burgoyne 
at  Albany,  pursued  his  route  up  the  Oswego  River  to  the  junction  of  the  Seneca  and 
Oneida,  at  Three  River  Point ;  thence  up  the  Oneida  River,  through  the  lake  of  that 
name,  along  Wood  Creek  and  across  the  portage  to  Fort  Stanwix,  on  the  Mohawk. 
As  he  progressed,  his  forces  were  augmented  by  the  Cayugas  and  the  Onondagas. 
Fort  Stanwix,  built  in  1759,  was  the  only  point  at  which  there  was  any  probability 
that  this  invading  force  would  be  stopped,  and  this  fortification,  though  well  con 
structed  and  protected  by  earthworks  against  artillery,  was  not  only  in  a  dilapidated 
condition,  but  was  garrisoned  by  only  four  hundred  State  troops,  under  Lieutenant- 
Colonel  Gansevoort,  subsequently  increased,  however,  to  some  seven  hundred.  The 
enemy  entertained  no  doubt  that  the  fort  would  surrender  at  discretion,  and,  as  the 
army  deployed  before  the  eyes  of  the  garrison,  column  after  column,  with  banners 
flashing  in  the  sun,  followed  by  battalions  of  light  artillery  and  hordes  of  Indians, 
the  Americans  experienced  a  feeling  similar  to  that  which  moved  David  when  he 
laid  aside  his  armor  and  stepped  down  into  the  valley  to  meet  Goliath. 

"The  3d  of  August  was  a  day  of  deep  interest,  and  revealed  a  military  pageant 
which  made  a  striking  impression.  It  was  a  calm  and  beautiful  morning  when  the 
enemy  took  up  their  line  of  march  from  Wood  Creek.  The  intervening  ground  was 
an  open  plain  of  wide  extent,  most  elevated  towards  its  central  and  southern  edge. 
Gansevoort's  men  were  paraded  on  the  ramparts,  looking  in  the  direction  whence  the 
Oneida  sachem  had  told  them  the  enemy  would  appear.  Music  soon  was  heard,  and 


TUB  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION.  251 

the  scarlet  color  of  their  uniforms  next  showed  itself.  They  had  taken  their  stand 
ards  from  their  cases  that  morning,  and  as  color  after  color  came  into  view,  and  they 
unfurled  them  to  the  breeze,  an  intense  degree  of  interest  was  felt,  but  scarcely  a 
word  was  uttered.  To  many  of  thejnen  who  had  newly  enlisted  the  scene  was  novel. 
Some  of  them  had  served  the  year  before  under  Montgomery,  others  in  the  move 
ments  at  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point  under  St.  Clair.^  Some  veterans  dated  their 
service  in  prior  wars  under  Sir  William  Johnson,  Prideaux,  and  Bradstreet;  there 
were  others  who  were  mere  lads  of  seventeen.  The  Indians,  spreading  out  on  the 
flanks,  gave  the  scene  an  air  of  terror,  for  their  loud  yells  were  heard  above  the 
British  drum  and  bugle.  The  whole  display,  the  exactitude  of  the  order  of  march, 
the  glitter  of  banners,  the  numbers  present,  and  the  impending  danger  of  the  contest 
were  designed  for  effect  upon  the  American  garrison.  Not  a  gun  was,  however,  fired; 
the  panorama  was  gazed  at  in  silence." 

Never  was  an  investment  more  complete.  The  artillery  deployed  on  the  south, 
and  took  up  their  position  within  cannon-shot.  The  Royal  Greens  and  Loyalists, 
under  Sir  John,  lined  one  bank  of  the  Mohawk,  the  shores  and  woods  being  occupied 
by  Braut  and  his  myrmidons.  Every  avenue  was  watched  by  the  Indians.  Death 
was  the  penalty  of  every  attempt  to  venture  a  distance  of  over  two  hundred  yards 
from  the  works.  Many  atrocities  were  committed  by  the  Indians  on  officers,  men, 
and  even  on  children,  who  were  captured  outside  the  pickets.  The  sentinels  soon 
became  expert  in  watching  for  every  cannon  fired,  and  by  a  warning  cry  announced 
the  coming  of  shot  or  shell.  It  became  evident  that  the  calibre  of  the  enemy's  guns 
was  too  light  to  make  an  impression  on  the  fort,  and  the  garrison  made  up  in  dili 
gence  what  they  lacked  in  power.  Sometimes  a  shell  exploded  in  the  hospital,  scat 
tering  destruction  around,  and  occasionally  a  man  was  shot  down  on  the  ramparts  or 
on  the  esplanade.  The  garrison  had  not  sufficient  ammunition  to  return  a  brisk  fire, 
but  there  was  one  thing  they  never  lacked, — a  heroic  determination  to  defend  the 
work  at  all  hazards.  The  striped  flag,  which  had  been  hastily  made  partly  out  of  a 
camlet  cloak,  was  duly  hoisted  and  lowered  every  morning  and  evening,  with  the 
firing  of  the  gun  that  marked  the  beginning  and  the  close  of  day.  There  was  not  a 
heart  that  quailed ;  they  well  knew  that  in  addition  to  the  ordinary  casualties  of  war, 
if  the  garrison  was  token,  the  Indians  would  perpetrate  the  most  inhuman  massacre. 
The  fort  was  bravely  defended  by  its  garrison,  whose  intrepidity,  firmness,  and 
military  endurance  had  been  previously  tested. 

The  siege  of  Fort  Stanwix  had  continued  but  three  or  four  days,  when  an  Amer 
ican  scout  entered  it  with  the  intelligence  that  General  Herkimer,  at  the  head  of  an 
army  of  militia,  was  on  his  way  to  relieve  it.  The  same  intelligence  from  Brant's 
sister  to  the  besiegers  caused  them  to  plan  an  ambush  for  the  relieving  force. 

Consternation  had  paralyzed  the  inhabitants  of  the  Mohawk  Valley  while  the 
danger  was  yet  distant,  but  the  peril  seemed  to  diminish  the  moment  it  came  near. 
A  desire  for  security  compelled  men  to  take  up  arms.  If  Fort  Stanwix  fell,  the 
Mohawk  Valley  would  be  swept  with  fire  and  sword,  and  General  Nicholas  Herkimer, 
who  commanded  the  militia,  issued  his  proclamation  summoning  them  to  arms. 


252  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Three  regiment?,  numbering  eight  hundred  men,  the  entire  strength  of  the  valley, 
promptly  responding,  rendezvoused  at  Fort  Dayton,  whence  they  marched  to 
Oriskany,  which  was  distant  but  a  few  miles  from  the  fort. 

Brant,  who  figured  as  the  leader  of  the  Iroquois,  had  called  into  requisition  all 
his  local  knowledge  of  the  route,  and  all  the  peculiar  art  of  the  Indians  in  war,  that 
he  might  decoy  General  Herkimer  and  his  army  into  an  ambuscade.  The  system 
of  tactics  pursued  by  the  Indians  is  not  to  engage  in  a  battle  in  compact  ranks,  but 
to  screen  themselves,  either  under  the  darkness  of  night  or  through  the  intervention 
of  forests,  and  if  in  this  way  a  good  assault  can  be  made  their  courage  sometimes 
becomes  equal  to  a  contest  in  very  open  order,  or  even  to  a  charge  on  the  field  of 
battle.  But  in  this  instance  the  chief  evidently  only  sought  to  serve  on  the  flanks, 
and  to  fall  on  the  Americans  unawares  or  at  a  disadvantage.  Such  is  the  Indian 
idea  of  military  triumph.  On  the  evening  of  the  5th  the  savages  filled  the  woods 
with  yells.  Next  morning,  divesting  themselves  of  their  blankets  and  fur  robes, 
they  went  forth,  supported  by  Sir  John  Johnson  and  some  of  his  royal  Yorkers, 
by  Colonel  Butler  and  his  rangers,  by  Glaus  and  his  Canadians,  and  by  Lieutenant 
Bird  and  a  party  of  regulars.  General  Herkimer  reached  the  valley  of  the  Oriskany 
August  6,  at  ten  o'clock  in  the  morning.  The  crossing  at  this  stream  was  sur 
rounded  by  low  grounds,  traversed  by  a  causeway,  and  beyond  it  were  elevated  pla 
teaus,  covered  with  forests,  which  overlooked  it.  The  Americans  saw  nothing  to 
excite  suspicion.  Herkimer  had  entered  this  pass,  which  was  within  six  miles  of  the 
fort,  about  an  hour  before  noon,  and  two  regiments  had  descended  into  the  valley, 
but  before  his  vanguard  had  reached  the  opposite  elevation  a  heavy  fire  was  sud 
denly  poured  in  from  all  sides,  accompanied  by  horrid  yells,  and  the  pass  in  his 
rear  was  immediately  closed  by  the  enemy.  At  the  same  moment  that  he  was  sur 
prised  in  front  by  Johnson,  the  Indians  fell  upon  his  flanks,  rushing  in  with  their 
tomahawks  after  using  their  guns.  The  Americans  were  completely  entrapped  in 
an  ambuscade,  and  for  a  few  moments  there  was  nothing  but  confusion  and  panic ; 
the  men  fell  thickly,  and  the  army  was  threatened  with  utter  annihilation ;  but  they 
flew  to  the  encounter  like  tigers;  patriot  and  Tory  grappled  with  each  other  in 
deadly  struggle.  The  dark  eye  of  the  Indian  flashed  with  delight  at  the  prospect  of 
revelling  in  human  blood,  and  the  Tory  sought  to  immolate  his  late  neighbor  who 
had  espoused  the  hated  cause  of  the  Revolution.  Falling  back  without  confusion  to 
better  ground,  the  Americans  resumed  the  fight  against  superior  numbers.  General 
Herkimer  was  wounded  and  fell  from  his  horse  early  in  the  action;  a  ball  had  pierced 
his  leg  below  the  knee,  and  killed  his  horse  under  him.  His  men  were  falling 
thickly  around  him ;  Colonel  Cox  was  killed,  and  the  yells  of  the  savages  resounded 
in  every  direction;  but  the  firmness  and  composure  of  the  general  were  undisturbed. 
His  saddle  was  placed  near  a  tree,  and  he  was  seated  on  it,  his  back  being  supported 
by  the  tree.  Here  he  issued  his  orders,  and  drawing  from  his  pocket  his  tobacco-box, 
and  lighting  his  pipe,  he  smoked  calmly  while  the  battle  raged  around.  After  some 
forty-five  minutes  had  elapsed,  the  men  began  to  fight  in  small  circles, — a  movement 
worthy  of  notice,  since  it  was  the  only  mode  of  contending  successfully  with  the 


THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION.  253 

surrounding  enemy,  who  outnumbered  them  two  to  one.  From  this  time  the  Amer 
icans  gained  ground.  A  slight  cessation  in  the  firing  was  taken  advantage  of  by  the 
enemy,  who  ordered  a  charge.  Bayonets  were  crossed,  and  a  desperate  struggle 
ensued,  which  was  arrested  by  a  sudden  and  heavy  shower  of  rain,  which  fell  in  a 
massive  sheet  during  one  entire  hour.  The  combatants  were  thus  separated.  Herki- 
mer's  men  then,  under  his  direction,  chose  a  more  advantageous  position,  and  formed 
in  a  large  circle.  They  were  from  the  first  as  expert  as  the  Indians  in  firing  from 
behind  trees,  but  the  latter,  as  soon  as  they  saw  the  smoke  of  a  discharge,  would  run 
up  and  tomahawk  the  soldier  before  he  could  reload.  The  Americans  then  placed 
two  men  behind  each  tree,  and  after  one  fired  the  other  was  ready  to  shoot  down  the 
advancing  savage.  The  fire  of  the  militia  becoming  more  effective,  the  enemy  began 
to  give  way,  when  Major  Watts  came  on  the  ground  with  another  detachment  of  the 
Royal  Greens,  chiefly  composed  of  fugitive  Tories,  and  the  fight  was  renewed  with 
greater  vigor  than  before.  The  contending  parties  sprang  at  each  other  from  the 
lines  with  the  fury  of  enraged  tigers,  charging  with  bayonets,  and  striking  at  each 
other  with  clubbed  muskets. 

A  diversion  was  now  made  which  became  the  turning-point  in  the  contest.  One 
of  Herkimer's  scouts  having  reached  the  fort  with  the  news  of  his  position,  its  com 
mander  immediately  resolved  to  make  a  sally  for  the  relief  of  the  army,  detaching 
for  that  purpose  Lieutenant-Colonel  Marinus  Willett.  The  troops  were  paraded  in 
a  square,  and  the  intelligence  communicated  to  them.  Colonel  Willett  then  descended 
to  the  esplanade  and  addressed  the  men  in  a  patriotic  manner,  concluding  with  the 
words,  "  As  many  of  you  as  feel  willing  to  follow  me  in  an  attack,  and  are  not  afraid 
to  die  for  liberty,  will  shoulder  your  arms,  and  step  out  one  pace  in  front."1  Two 
hundred  men  volunteered  almost  at  the  same  moment,  and  fifty  more,  with  a  three- 
pounder,  were  soon  after  added  to  the  force.  The  rain-storm,  which  came  up  sud 
denly,  hindered  their  immediate  inarch,  but  as  soon  as  it  ceased  they  issued  from  the 
sally-port  at  a  brisk  pace,  and,  rushing  down  upon  the  camp  of  Sir  John,  carried  it 
at  the  point  of  the  bayonet,  drove  the  enemy  through  the  Mohawk,  and  captured 
all  their  camp-equipage  and  public  stores,  together  with  five  British  flags.  Colonel 
Willett  then  turned  his  arms  against  the  Mohawk  camp,  and  swept  through  it, 
returning  to  the  fort  with  twenty-one  wagon-loads  of  spoils.  The  sound  of  this 
rapid  and  severe  firing  arrested  the  attention  of  the  belligerents  after  the  cessation 
of  the  rain.  By  a  change  of  caps  with  a  company  of  men,  whose  dress  in  this 
respect  resembled  that  of  the  Americans,  Major  Watts  attempted  to  palm  off  on  the 
patriots  a  detachment  of  his  troops  as  an  American  reinforcement,  but  the  subterfuge 
was  quickly  discovered,  and  the  fight  was  resumed  with  bitter  enmity.  The  Indian 
exclamation  of  Oonah  I  was  at  length  heard,  and  the  enemy  retired,  leaving  Herki- 
mer  in  possession  of  the  field.  Those  who  have  most  minutely  described  this  battle 
relate  instances  of  personal  heroism  which  would  not  disgrace  the  Iliad. 

The  Indians,  who  had  suffered  severely,  fought  with  great  desperation.     One 

1  Verbal  account  of  the  late  Colonel  Lawrence  Schoolcnft,  one  of  this  number. 


254  rHE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

hundred  of  their  number  lay  dead,  thirty  -six  of  whom,  comprising  several  chiefs, 
were  Senecas,  who  had  been  present  in  the  greatest  numbers.  When  they  returned 
to  their  lodges  and  told  the  story  of  the  slaughter  of  their  chiefs,  their  villages  rang 
with  the  howls  of  mourners  and  yells  of  rage.  The  fighting  had  become  desul 
tory,  when  suddenly  the  Senecas,  who  feared  the  arrival  of  American  reinforcements, 
shouted  their  word  for  retreat,  and  commenced  to  move  off,  followed  by  the  Loyalists ; 
while  the  reviving  shouts  and  more  spirited  firing  of  Herkimer's  men  resounded 
in  every  direction.  Thus  ended  one  of  the  most  severely  contested  battles  of  the 
Revolution.  Though  not  a  victory  for  the  Americans,  neither  was  it  a  defeat,  as  it 
has  been  usually  called,  for  they  were  left  in  undisputed  possession  of  the  field,  which 
was  not  visited  again  by  the  enemy,  either  white  or  red.  They  constructed  forty  or 
fifty  litters,  on  which  they  conveyed  the  wounded  to  their  homes.  Their  loss  was 
about  one  hundred  and  sixty  killed,  besides  the  wounded  and  prisoners.  Among  the 
number  was  General  Herkimer,  who  reached  in  safety  his  own  house,  where  he  died 
about  ten  days  after  the  battle  from  the  result  of  an  unskilful  amputation  of  his  leg. 
A  monument  was  decreed  by  Congress  to  Herkimer,  who,  in  the  opinion  of  Wash 
ington,  "  first  reversed  the  gloomy  scene"  of  the  Northern  campaign.  Gansevoort 
was  rewarded  by  a  vote  of  thanks  and  a  command ;  Willett  by  public  praise  and 
"  an  elegant  sword." 

The  siege  of  Fort  Stanwix  was  prosecuted  during  sixteen  days  after  the  battle  of 
Oriskany.  There  appearing  to  be  no  further  prospect  of  relief  from  the  militia,  it 
was  resolved  to  send  information  of  the  condition  of  the  fortress  to  the  commandant 
of  the  army  at  Saratoga.  Colonel  Willett  volunteered  with  a  single  companion, 
Lieutenant  Stockwell,  to  undertake  this  perilous  duty.  Creeping  through  the  closely- 
guarded  Indian  lines  at  night,  he  picked  his  way  through  woods  and  unfrequented 
paths  to  Fort  Dayton  (now  Herkimer),  whence  he  proceeded  to  Saratoga.  General 
Schuyler  immediately  ordered  Arnold,  with  a  detachment  of  nine  hundred  men  and 
two  pieces  of  artillery,  to  march  to  its  relief.  But  before  this  force  reached  its 
destination  an  apparently  trivial  circumstance  caused  St.  Leger  to  break  up  his 
encampment  and  suddenly  retreat.  Among  a  company  of  Tories  who  had  been 
captured  one  night  in  an  unlawful  assembly  at  Little  Falls  was  one  Hon  Yost,  a 
Mohawk  half-breed,  who  had  with  others,  including  the  noted  Butler,  been  con 
demned  to  death  by  a  court-martial.  When  Arnold  arrived  at  Fort  Dayton,  the 
mother  of  this  man,  who  was  a  simpleton,  but  on  this  account  regarded  with  more 
favor  by  the  Indians,  besought  him  with  piteous  supplications  to  avert  his  doom. 
Arnold  was  at  first  inexorable,  but  eventually  said  that  if  Hon  Yost  would,  in 
glowing  terms,  announce  his  approach  in  St.  Leger's  camp  before  Fort  Stanwix,  he 
would  grant  him  a  reprieve  from  the  gallows.  The  event  proved  Arnold's  sagacity. 
Hon  Yost  represented  to  St.  Leger  that  he  had  narrowly  escaped,  and  had  been 
hotly  pursued ;  in  proof  of  which  assertion  he  exhibited  his  coat  that  he  had  hung 
up,  fired  at,  and  perforated  with  bullet-holes.  He  exaggerated  the  force  of  Arnold's 
detachment  in  every  particular,  and,  as  he  spoke  Mohawk  fluently,  he  advised  the 
whole  Indian  force  to  fly  instantly.  A  perfect  panic  prevailed.  Deaf  to  the  entreaties 


THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION.  255 

of  St.  Leger  and  of  their  superintendents,  the  Indians  robbed  the  British  officers 
of  their  clothes,  plundered  the  boats,  and  made  off  with  the  booty.  The  morning 
after  his  arrival,  which  was  the  22d  of  August,  the  men  on  the  ramparts  of  the 
fort  beheld  with  surprise  a  sudden  movement  in  the  enemy's  camp.  Not  only 
were  the  Indians  in  full  retreat,  but  also  St.  Leger,  Sir  John  Johnson,  and  Brant, 
with  all  their  host  'of  Indians  and  Tories,  though  Arnold  was  not  within  forty 
miles  of  them.  The  tents  were  left  standing,  and  the  whole  train  of  artillery, 
including  the  mortars,  was  abandoned.  The  following  day  General  Arnold  marched 
into  the  fort,  with  General  Lamed  of  the  Massachusetts  line,  and  was  received  with 
salutes  and  huzzus.  During  twenty-one  days  the  siege  had  been  closely  maintained, 
and  as  closely  contested.  The  firmness  and  endurance  of  the  garrison  excited 
admiration  throughout  the  country,  and  imparted  new  spirits  to  the  friends  of  the 
Revolution,  who  had  been  so  recently  depressed  by  Burgoyne's  invasion.  It  was 
the  first  of  a  series  of  victories,  beginning  in  the  most  gloomy  period  of  the  contest, 
the  year  1777.  When  the  smoke  of  the  Revolution  cleared  away,  and  memory 
reverted  to  the  times  that  tried  men's  souls,  the  site  of  this  fort,  afterwards  rechris- 
tened  Fort  Schuyler,  was  named,  and  has  since  been  called,  Rome,1  in  allusion  to  the 
bravery  of  its  defence. 

This  triumph  was  followed  in  October  by  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne.  The 
employment  of  Indian  allies  had  failed.  They  had  melted  away  continually  after 
the  battle  of  September  19,  while,  through  the  zeal  of  Schuyler,  and  contrary  to  the 
policy  of  Gates,  a  small  band,  chiefly  Oneidas,  joined  the  American  camp.  Early 
the  following  year,  on  the  6th  of  February,  France  joined  the  colonies,  entering  into 
a  treaty  of  amity,  commerce,  and  alliance  with  them,  and  from  that  moment  the 
success  of  the  patriots  ceased  to  be  problematical. 

1  Oneida  County,  New  York. 


CHAPTER   IIL 

. 

EMPLOYMENT    OP    INDIANS    IN  WAR— ADDRESS  OF  CONGRESS  TO  THE  TRIBES- 
MASSACRES  OP  WYOMING,  CHERRY  VALLEY,  AND  ULSTER. 

No  contest  which  occurred  during  the  struggle  of  the  Revolution  was  of  so  much 
importance  to  a  wide  extent  of  country  as  that  of  Fort  Stanwix,  in  which  the 
Indians  were  relied  on  by  the  British  as  auxiliaries,  and  possessed  in  reality  so  much 
power  to  control  the  result  It  is  doubtful  if  of  the  seventeen  hundred  men 
announced  at  Oswego  as  composing  the  besieging  force,  more  than  seven  hundred 
were  regular  troops.  Of  these  the  royalists,  commanded  by  Sir  John  Johnson, 
formed  one  regiment;  while  the  Senecas,  the  Mississagies,  the  fugitive  Mohawks, 
and  the  Cayugas  and  Onondagas,  should  not  be  estimated  at  less  than  one  thousand 
warriors.  A  patriot  present  at  that  siege,  who  was  likewise  a  close  observer  on  the 
frontiers  throughout  the  war,  has  asserted  that  in  rancor  and  cruelty  a  rabid  royalist 
was  equal  to  two  ordinary  Indians,  for  while  he  was  actuated  by  the  same  general 
spirit  of  revenge,  he  possessed  an  intimate  knowledge  of  neighborhoods  and  families, 
which  he  attacked  in  the  assumed  guise  of  a  savage. 

The  policy  of  employing  savages  at  all  in  war  admits  of  no  defence.  The 
scalping  and  the  indiscriminate  slaughter  of  both  sexes  are  the  most  horrid  traits  of 
savage  life.  None  but  a  weak  and  bigoted  prince,  counselled  by  a  short-sighted  and 
narrow-minded  premier,  would  have  adopted  this  system  as  a  part  of  the  extraneous 
means  of  reducing  the  colonies  to  subjection.  The  Indians  could  never  be  relied  on 
by  British  generals,  or  employed  for  any  other  purpose  than  that  of  covering  their 
flanks  and  imparting  to  the  contest  a  more  bitter  and  vindictive  character.  If  the 
latter  was  the  object  sought,  the  end  was  fully  answered.  The  men  of  the  present 
generation  have  not  forgotten  the  acts  of  fiendish  cruelty  perpetrated  by  the  Revolu 
tionary  Tories  and  their  Indian  allies. 

From  the  beginning  of  the  contest  Congress  had  made  strenuous  efforts  to 
persuade  the  Indian  tribes  to  remain  neutral.  Commissioners  were  intrusted  with 
the  management  of  Indian  affairs  in  the  North  and  South.  Active  and  influential 
men  were  delegated  to  visit  the  savages  in  their  own  country,  and  instructed  to  reason 
with  them  on  the  subject  These  visits  were  repeated  in  the  years  1775,  1776,  and 
1777,  with  what  partial  effects  has  been  seen ;  the  Oneidas,  and  their  guests  and 
allies,  the  Tuscaroras  and  Mohicans,  who  had  long  previously  acknowledged  the 
good  results  of  Christian  teaching,  being  the  only  tribes  which  acquiesced.  There 
was  some  reason  to  expect  that  the  Shawnees  and  Delawares  would  preserve  a  neutral 
position ;  the  object  was  not  one  to  be  relinquished  so  long  as  a  hope  of  success 
remained.  The  defeat  the  Indians  had  suffered  at  Fort  Stanwix  appeared  to  open 
256 


THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION.  257 

the  way  for  another  formal  conciliatory  effort.  With  this  view,  on  the  3d  of  De 
cember,  1777,  the  Committee  on  Indian  Affairs  reported  the  following  address, 
which,  while  couched  in  terms  suited  to  the  comprehension  of  the  Indians,  at  the 
same  time  appeals  to  their  ancient  pride  and  best  interests,  reviewing  the  grounds  of 
controversy  between  the  two  powers,  and  presenting  in  a  proper  light  the  principles 
by  which  they  should  be  guided : 

"  BROTHERS  OF  THE  Six  NATIONS  :  The  great  council  of  the  United  States  now 
call  for  your  attention.  Open  your  ears,  that  you  may  hear,  and  your  hearts,  that 
you  may  understand. 

"  When  the  people  on  the  other  side  of  the  great  water,  without  any  cause,  sought 
our  destruction,  and  sent  over  their  ships  and  their  warriors  to  fight  against  us  and 
to  take  away  our  possessions,  you  might  reasonably  have  expected  us  to  ask  for  your 
assistance.  If  we  are  enslaved,  you  cannot  be  free.  For  our  strength  is  greater  than 
yours.  If  they  would  not  spare  their  brothers  of  the  same  flesh  and  blood,  would 
they  spare  you  ?  If  they  burn  our  houses  and  ravage  our  lands,  could  yours  be 
secure? 

"  But  we  acted  on  very  different  principles.  Far  from  desiring  you  to  hazard 
your  lives  in  our  quarrel,  we  advised  you  to  remain  still,  in  ease  and  at  peace.  We 
even  entreated  you  to  remain  neuter,  and  under  the  shade  of  your  trees  and  by  the 
side  of  your  streams  to  smoke  your  pipe  in  safety  and  contentment.  Though  pressed 
by  our  enemies,  and  when  their  ships  obstructed  our  supplies  of  arms  and  powder 
and  clothing,  we  were  not  unmindful  of  your  wants.  Of  what  was  necessary  for  our 
own  use  we  cheerfully  spared  you  a  part.  More  we  should  have  done  had  it  been  in 
our  power. 

"CAYUGAS,  SENEGAS,  TUSCARORAS,  AND  MOHAWKS:  Open  your  ears  and  hear 
our  complaints.  Why  have  you  listened  to  the  voice  of  our  enemies?  Why  have 
you  suffered  Sir  John  Johnson  and  Butler  to  mislesid  you  ?  Why  have  you  assisted 
General  St.  Loger  and  his  warriors  from  the  other  side  of  the  great  water  by  giving 
them  a  free  passage  through  your  country  to  annoy  us,  which  both  you  and  we 
solemnly  promised  should  not  be  defiled  with  blood  ?  Why  have  you  suffered  so 
many  of  your  nations  to  join  them  in  their  cruel  purpose  ?  Is  this  a  suitable  return 
for  our  love  and  kindness?  or  did  you  suspect  that  we  were  too  weak  or  too  cowardly 
to  defend  our  country,  and  join  our  enemies  that  you  might  come  in  for  a  share  of 
the  plunder?  What  has  been  gained  by  this  unprovoked  treachery  ?  what  but  shame 
and  disgrace?  Your  foolish  warriors  and  their  new  allies  have  been  defeated  and 
driven  back  in  every  quarter,  and  many  of  them  justly  paid  the  price  of  their 
rashness  with  their  lives.  Sorry  are  we  to  find  that  our  ancient  chain  of  union, 
heretofore  so  strong  and  bright,  should  be  broken  by  such  poor  and  weak  instruments 
as  Sir  John  Johnson  and  Butler,  who  dare  not  show  their  faces  among  their  country 
men  ;  and  by  St.  Leger,  a  stranger,  whom  you  never  knew  I  What  has  become  of  the 
spirit,  the  wisdom,  and  the  justice  of  your  nations  ?  Is  it  possible  that  you  should 
barter  away  your  ancient  glory  and  break  through  the  most  solemn  treaties  for  a  few 
blankets  or  a  little  rum  or  powder?  That  trifles  such  as  these  should  prove  any 

ii— 33 


258  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

temptation  to  you  to  cat  down  the  strong  tree  of  friendship,  by  oar  common  ancestors 
planted  in  the  deep  bowels  of  the  earth,  at  Onondaga,  your  central  council-fire ! — 
that  tree  which  has  been  watered  and  nourished  by  their  children  until  the  branches 
had  almost  reached  the  skies  I  As  well  might  we  have  expected  that  the  mole  should 
overturn  the  vast  mountains  of  the  Alleghany,  or  that  the  birds  of  the  air  should 
drink  up  the  waters  of  Ontario  I 

"  CAYUGAS,  SENEGAS,  ONONDAGAS,  AND  MOHAWKS  :  Look  into  your  hearts,  and 
be  attentive.  Much  are  you  to  blame,  and  greatly  have  you  wronged  us.  Be  wise 
in  time.  Be  sorry,  and  mend  your  faults.  The  great  council,  though  the  blood  of 
our  friends  who  fell  by  your  tomahawks  at  the  German  Flats  cries  aloud  against  you, 
will  yet  be  patient  We  do  not  desire  to  destroy  you.  Long  have  we  been  at  peace, 
and  it  is  still  our  wish  to  bury  the  hatchet  and  wipe  away  the  blood  which  some  of 
you  have  so  unjustly  shed.  Till  time  shall  be  no  more,  we  wish  to  smoke  with  you 
the  calumet  of  friendship  around  your  central  fire  at  Onondaga.  But,  brothers, 
mark  well  what  we  now  tell  you.  Let  it  sink  deep  as  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  and 
never  be  forgotten  by  you  or  your  children.  If  ever  again  you  take  up  the  hatchet 
to  strike  us,  if  you  join  our  enemies  in  battle  or  council,  if  you  give  them  intelli 
gence,  or  encourage  or  permit  them  to  pass  through  your  country  to  molest  or  hurt 
any  of  our  people,  we  shall  look  on  you  as  our  enemies,  and  treat  you  as  the  worst 
of  enemies,  who  cover  your  bad  designs  under  a  cloak  of  friendship,  and,  like  the 
concealed  adder,  only  wait  for  an  opportunity  to  wound  us  when  we  are  most  unpre 
pared. 

"  BROTHERS  :  Believe  us,  who  never  deceive.  If,  after  all  our  good  counsel,  and 
all  our  care  to  prevent  it,  we  must  take  up  the  hatchet,  the  blood  to  be  shed  will  lie 
heavy  on  your  heads.  The  hand  of  the  thirteen  United  States  is  not  short ;  it  will 
reach  to  the  farthest  extent  of  the  country  of  the  Six  Nations ;  and,  while  we  have 
right  on  our  side,  the  Good  Spirit,  whom  we  serve,  will  enable  us  to  punish  you,  and 
put  it  out  of  your  power  to  do  us  further  mischief. 

"  ONEIDAS  AND  TUSCARORAS  :  Hearken  to  what  we  have  to  say  to  you  in  partic 
ular.  It  rejoices  our  hearts  that  we  have  no  reason  to  reproach  you  in  common  with 
the  rest  of  the  Six  Nations.  We  have  experienced  your  love,  strong  as  the  oak,  and 
your  fidelity,  unchangeable  as  truth.  You  have  kept  fast  hold  of  the  ancient  cove 
nant  chain,  and  preserved  it  free  from  rust  and  decay,  and  bright  as  silver.  Like 
brave  men,  for  glory  you  despised  danger ;  you  stood  forth  in  the  cause  of  your 
friends,  and  ventured  your  lives  in  our  battles.  While  the  sun  and  moon  continue 
to  give  light  to  the  world  we  shall  love  and  respect  you.  As  our  trusty  friends,  we 
shall  protect  you,  and  shall  at  all  times  consider  your  welfare  as  our  own. 

"  BROTHERS  OF  THE  Six  NATIONS  :  Open  your  ears,  and  listen  attentively.  It  is 
long  ago  that  we  explained  to  you  our  quarrel  with  the  people  on  the  other  side  of 
the  great  water.  Remember  that  our  cause  is  just  You  and  your  forefathers  have 
long  seen  us  allied  to  those  people  in  friendship.  By  our  labor  and  industry  they 
flourished  like  the  trees  of  the  forest,  and  became  exceedingly  rich  and  proud.  At 
length  nothing  would  satisfy  them  unless,  like  slaves,  we  would  give  them  the  power 


THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION.  259 

over  our  whole  substance.  Because  we  would  not  yield  to  such  shameful  bondage, 
they  took  up  the  hatchet  You  have  seen  them  covering  our  coasts  with  their  ships, 
and  a  part  of  our  country  with  their  warriors ;  but  you  have  not  seen  us  dismayed : 
on  the  contrary,  you  know  that  we  have  stood  firm  like  rocks,  and  fought  like  men 
who  deserved  to  be  free.  You  know  that  we  have  defeated  St.  Leger  and  conquered 
Burgoyne  and  all  their  warriors.  Our  chief  men  and  our  warriors  are  now  fighting 
against  the  rest  of  our  enemies,  and  we  trust  that  the  Great  Spirit  will  soon  put  them 
in  our  power,  or  enable  us  to  drive  them  all  far  beyond  the  great  waters. 

"  BROTHERS  :  Believe  us  that  they  feel  their  own  weakness,  and  that  they  are 
unable  to  subdue  the  thirteen  United  States.  Else  why  have  they  not  left  our 
Indian  brethren  in  peace,  as  they  first  promised  and  we  wished  to  have  done  ?  Why 
have  they  endeavored,  by  cunning  speeches,  by  falsehood  and  misrepresentations,  by 
strong  drink  and  presents,  to  embitter  the  minds  and  darken  the  understandings  of 
all  our  Indian  friends  on  this  great  continent,  from  the  North  to  the  South,  and  to 
engage  them  to  take  up  the  hatchet  against  us  without  any  provocation  ?  The  Cher- 
okees.  like  some  of  you,  were  prevailed  upon  to  strike  our  people.  "We  carried  the 
war  into  their  country,  and  fought  them.  They  saw  their  error,  they  repented,  and 
we  forgave  them.  The  United  States  are  kind  and  merciful,  and  wish  for  peace  with 
all  the  world.  We  have,  therefore,  renewed  our  ancient  covenant  chain  with  their 
nation. 

"  BROTHERS  :  The  Shawanese  and  Delawares  give  us  daily  proofs  of  their  good 
disposition  and  their  attachment  to  us,  and  are  ready  to  assist  us  against  all  our 
enemies.  The  Chickasaws  are  among  the  number  of  our  faithful  friends.  And  the 
Choctaws,  though  remote  from  us,  have  refused  to  listen  to  the  persuasions  of  our 
enemies,  rejected  all  their  offers  of  corruption,  and  continue  peaceable.  The  Creeks 
are  also  our  steady  friends.  Oboylaco,  their  great  chief,  and  the  rest  of  their  sachems 
and  warriors,  as  the  strongest  mark  of  their  sincere  friendship,  have  presented  the 
great  council  with  an  emblem  of  peace.  They  have  desired  that  these  tokens  might 
be  shown  to  the  Six  Nations  and  their  allies,  to  convince  them  that  the  Creeks  are  at 
peace  with  the  United  States.  We  have  therefore  directed  our  commissioners  to 
deliver  them  into  your  hands.  Let  them  be  seen  by  all  the  nations  in  your  alliance, 
and  preserved  in  your  central  council-house  at  Onondaga. 

"  BROTHERS  OF  THE  Six  NATIONS  :  Hearken  to  our  counsel.  Let  us  who  are 
born  on  the  same  great  continent  love  one  another.  Our  interest  is  the  same,  and 
we  ought  to  be  one  people,  always  ready  to  assist  and  serve  each  other.  What  are 
the  people  who  belong  to  the  other  side  of  the  great  waters  to  either  of  us  ?  They 
never  come  here  for  our  sakes,  but  to  gratify  their  own  pride  and  avarice.  Their 
business  now  is  to  kill  and  destroy  our  inhabitants,  to  lay  waste  our  houses  and  farms. 
The  day,  we  trust,  will  soon  arrive  when  we  shall  be  rid  of  them  forever.  Now  is 
the  time  to  hasten  and  secure  this  happy  event  Let  us,  then,  from  this  moment 
join  hand  and  heart  in  the  defence  of  our  common  country.  Let  us  rise  as  one  man 
and  drive  away  our  cruel  oppressors.  Henceforward  let  none  be  able  to  separate  us. 
If  any  of  our  people  injure  you,  acquaint  us  of  it,  and  you  may  depend  upon  full 


260  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

satisfaction.  If  any  of  yours  hurt  us,  be  you  ready  to  repair  the  wrong  or  punish 
the  aggressor.  Above  all,  shut  your  ears  against  liars  and  deceivers,  who,  like  false 
meteors,  strive  to  lead  you  astray  and  to  set  us  at  variance.  Believe  no  evil  of  us 
till  you  have  taken  pains  to  discover  the  truth.  Our  council-fire  always  burns  clear 
and  bright  in  Pennsylvania.1  Our  commissioners  and  agents  are  near  your  country. 
We  shall  not  be  blinded  by  false  reports  or  false  appearances."1 

This  overture  produced  no  change  in  the  policy  of  the  Indians :  in  public  coun 
cils  as  well  as  in  private  their  ears  were  filled  with  reasonings  and  persuasions  of  a 
very  different  character.  Ever  judging  from  appearances,  and  from  what  was  tangi 
ble  and  visible,  they  were  impressed  with  the  power,  means,  and  ability  of  the  British 
government  to  subdue  the  colonies.  They  contrasted  its  resources  with  those  of  the 
thirteen  States,  struggling,  as  it  were,  in  the  grasp  of  a  giant,  and  from  that  com 
parison  drew  the  conclusion  that,  however  courageous  and  resolute  the  colonists  were 
in  battle,  they  were  few  in  numbers  and  lacking  in  means.  It  being  a  cardinal 
principle  with  the  Indians  to  adhere  to  the  strongest  party,  they  remained  unmoved 
by  all  the  arguments  addressed  to  them. 

It  would  be  foreign  to  the  plan  of  the  present  work  to  describe  in  detail  the 
scenes  of  Indian  outrage  and  massacre  which  marked  the  Revolutionary  contest,  the 
object  being  to  present  prominent  facts.  The  character  of  the  Indians  did  not 
appear  in  any  new  light ;  as  the  war  advanced,  they  swept  over  the  country  like  a 
pestilence,  frequently  like  infuriated  tigers  springing  across  the  borders  and  spreading 
death  and  devastation  where  domestic  happiness  had  previously  reigned.  Any  hope 
that  might  have  been  entertained  of  mollifying  their  hatred  proved  to  be  a  delusion. 
The  Iroquois,  who  were  the  principal  actors  in  this  murderous  warfare,  were  in 
nearly  every  instance  led  on  by  their  chieftain  Brant.  Sometimes,  however,  parties 
of  the  various  tribes  of  Algonkin  lineage  from  the  West  were  in  the  practice  of 
visiting  the  head-quarters  of  the  British  Indian  Department  at  Fort  Niagara.  At 
this  place  most  of  the  war-parties  were  formed,  supplied,  and  equipped.  Thither 
they  also  returned  to  report  their  success,  bringing  their  prisoners  with  them  to  pass 
through  the  terrible  ordeal  of  the  gauntlet,  and  there  likewise  they  received  rewards 
for  the  scalps  they  had  taken. 

In  the  early  summer  of  1778  the  movements  of  Brant  and  his  warriors  upon  the 
upper  waters  of  the  Susquehanna,  and  of  the  Tories  in  the  valley  of  Wyoming,  had 
aroused  the  people  of  that  region  to  a  sense  of  the  perils  incident  to  their  exposed 
situation.  Apprehension  was  felt  that  some  of  the  Loyalists  who  had  left  the  valley 
and  joined  the  forces  of  Colonel  John  Butler  would  return  and  wreak  their  vengeance 
on  the  inhabitants.  Atrocities  had  been  perpetrated  in  the  neighborhood  of  Tioga, 
and  the  Indians  at  Conewawah  (now  Elmira,  New  York)  were  in  constant  commu 
nication  with  the  Tory  settlers.  The  attention  of  Congress  had  been  often  called  to 
their  danger,  weakened  as  they  had  been  by  drafts  upon  their  able-bodied  men  for 
the  Continental  army,  nearly  all  of  whom  were  absent  in  service.  The  remaining 

1  Then  the  seat  of  government.  *  Journal  of  Congress. 


THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION.  2G1 

population,  in  dread  of  the  savages,  were  voluntarily  building  six  forts,  or  stockades, 
requiring  great  labor.  Aged  men,  exempt  by  law  from  military  duty,  were  formed 
into  companies  to  garrison  these  forte,  while  the  whole  of  the  militia  were  in  constant 
requisition  as  scouts  and  guides.  Such  was  the  condition  of  Wyoming  when  the 
Tory  and  Indian  expedition  was  prepared  for  its  destruction. 

It  was  at  Niagara  that  the  plan  of  the  incursion  into  the  valley  of  Wyoming 
originated.  Towards  the  close  of  June,  1778,  Colonel  John  Butler,  the  commanding 
officer  of  that  post,  ordered  three  hundred  men,  principally  Loyalists,  to  set  out  on 
an  expedition  to  the  Susquehanna,  accompanied  by  a  body  of  Indians,  eleven  hun 
dred  in  all,  of  diverse  tribes,  under  Gi-en-gwa-tah,  a  Seneca  chief.  Arriving  at 
Tioga  Point,  they  embarked  in  floats,  or  on  rafts,  and  reached  the  scene  of  conflict 
on  the  first  day  of  July. 

Landing  on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  about  twenty  miles  above  Wyoming,  they 
entered  the  valley  through  a  notch  from  the  west,  not  far  from  the  famous  Dial 
Rock,  and  killed  three  men  near  Fort  Jenkins.  Butler  made  his  head-quarters  at 
Wintcrmoots  Fort,  whence  he  sent  out  scouts  and  foragers.  All  the  preparation  in 
their  power  had  been  made  by  the  people  to  withstand  the  foe.  A  company  of  forty 
or  fifty  regulars  and  a  few  militia,  under  Captain  Hcwett,  composed  the  military 
force  with  which  to  oppose  the  enemy.  Old  men,  boys,  and  even  women  seized  such 
weapons  as  were  at  hand.  Colonel  Zebulon  Butler,  an  officer  of  the  Continental 
4,  army,  who  happened  to  be  at  home,  was  made  commander-in-chief.  Forty  Fort  (so 
called  from  the  first  forty  Yankee  pioneers  of  Wyoming)  was  made  the  place  of 
rendezvous,  and  thither  the  women  and  children  fled  for  safety. 

On  the  morning  of  July  3  a  council  of  war  was  held  here.  The  odds  were 
fearful,  and  there  was  no  alternative  but  to  fight  or  submit  to  the  tender  mercies  of 
the  Indians  and  the  more  savage  Tories.  Colonels  Butler  and  Denison,  and  Lieu 
tenant-Colonel  Dorrance,  were  in  favor  of  delay,  hoping  for  the  arrival  of  reinforce 
ments.  Others,  having  little  hope  of  succor,  advised  meeting  the  enemy  at  once. 
Already  Fort  Jenkins  had  been  captured,  and  the  other  stockades  would  doubtless 
share  its  fate.  The  surrender  of  Forty  Fort  and  the  valley  had  been  demanded  by 
Colonel  John  Butler,  and  the  uplifted  hatchet  was  ready  to  descend  upon  the  heads 
of  those  families  that  had  not  succeeded  in  reaching  the  fort.  Prompt  action  seemed 
necessary,  and  the  majority  bravely  but  rashly  decided  to  march  out  and  give  battle 
to  the  invaders. 

The  plucky  little  American  force,  numbering  between  three  hundred  and  four 
hundred,  approached  the  enemy's  lines,  eleven  hundred  strong,  about  four  o'clock, 
the  afternoon  being  intensely  hot,  and  gave  battle,  advancing  a  step  at  each  fire. 
Soon  the  enemy's  left,  where  John  Butler  was  posted,  began  to  give  way,  but  it  was 
at  once  supported  by  a  flanking  party  of  Indians,  who,  from  their  concealment,  kept 
up  a  galling  fire.  For  half  an  hour  the  Americans  maintained  the  conflict  against 
vastly  superior  numbers,  when  the  Indians  on  their  left  flanked  Colonel  Denison, 
and  he  •was  thus  exposed  to  a  murderous  cross-fire.  His  order  to  his  men  to  fall 
back  to  a  more  favorable  position  was  mistaken  for  an  order  to  retreat,  and  they 


262  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

fell  back  in  confusion.  Every  effort  to  rally  the  fugitives  was  ineffectual.  Riding 
along  the  line,  exposed  to  the  fire  of  the  contending  parties,  and  seemingly  uncon 
scious  of  danger,  Colonel  Zcbulon  Butler  besought  his  troops  to  remain  firm.  "  Don't 
leave  me,  my  children,"  he  exclaimed,  "  and  the  victory  is  ours."  All  that  bravery 
and  devotion  could  do  was  done  by  Butler  and  Denison,  but  it  was  too  late.  Every 
captain  had  been  killed,  and  the  line  broke  and  fled,  some  to  the  fort,  and  some  to 
Monocacy  Island,  nearly  a  mile  off.  A  scene  of  horror  ensued.  Only  sixty  escaped 
the  rifle,  the  tomahawk,  and  the  scalping-knife.  The  prisoners  were  either  tortured 
or  butchered  in  cold  blood.  Colonel  Butler  escaped  to  Wilkesbarre  Fort,  and  Col 
onel  Denison  to  Forty  Fort,  where  he  prepared  to  defend  the  fugitive  women  and 
children.  He  surrendered  next  day,  however,  there  being  no  hope  of  a  successful 
defence,  the  other  stockades  having  fallen,  and  the  people  of  the  valley  having  gen 
erally  fled  from  the  scene.  The  terms  of  capitulation  were  soon  violated,  the  Indians 
before  night  having  spread  through  the  valley,  plundering  the  few  people  that  were 
left,  and  burning  the  abandoned  dwellings.  The  Tory  commander  endeavored  to 
restrain  them,  but  his  orders  were  utterly  disregarded.  The  village  of  Wilkes 
barre  was  also  burned,  and  the  terrified  inhabitants  fled  to  the  mountains.  Except 
the  few  who  gathered  about  the  fort  at  Wilkesbarre,  the  settlement,  which  presented 
one  wide  scene  of  conflagration,  massacre,  and  ruin,  was  wholly  abandoned  by  its 
former  inhabitants,  and  remained  so  for  months.  Terribly  as  the  valley  had  suffered, 
it  continued  to  be  harassed  and  devastated  by  the  savage  foe  until  peace  was  pro 
claimed. 

It  was  then  believed,  and  it  has  since  been  frequently  asserted,  that  Brant  led  the 
Indians  on  this  occasion ;  but  it  is  doubtful  whether  he  was  actually  present,  though 
he  probably  approved^of  the  movement,  if  he  was  not  the  instigator  of  it.  This 
chief  was  known  to  cherish  such  a  deadly  hatred  of  the  Revolutionists,  and  had 
been  so  frequently  connected  with  the  incursions  and  midnight  massacres  perpetrated 
on  the  frontiers,  that  in  the  popular  estimation  no  injustice  has  been  done  to  his  bad 
reputation  in  the  use  which  has  been  made  of  his  name  by  the  poet  Campbell.  A 
melancholy  catalogue,  indeed,  would  be  a  detail  of  the  enterprises  in  which  Brant 
was  the  leader  and  principal  actor.  Though  the  voice  of  contemporary  history  might 
be  stifled  regarding  his  conduct  as  the  leader  of  the  massacre  in  Cherry  Valley, 
his  sanguinary  attacks  upon  Saratoga,  German  Flats,  Unadilla,  and  Schoharie,  as 
well  as  the  murder  of  the  wounded  Colonel  Wisner  and  the  inhuman  butchery  of 
the  wounded  at  Ulster,  will  during  all  future  time  illustrate  the  way  in  which  he 
hovered  around  the  frontiers  of  New  York  and  Pennsylvania,  like  the  genius  of 
evil,  with  the  enraged  Aquinoshioni  in  his  train.  If  the  responsibility  for  acts  com 
mitted  depends  upon  the  cultivated  moral  perceptions  of  the  individual,  then  the 
great  partisan  Mohawk  will  have  much  more  to  answer  for  than  his  kindred  gener 
ally,  as  he  not  only  received  a  scholastic  and  religious  education,  but  was  for  a  long 
time  domiciliated  in  the  family  of  Sir  William  Johnson,  in  which  he  officiated  as  an 
assistant  secretary,  and  where  he  became  familiar  with  the  maxims  and  usages  of 
refined  society. 


THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION.  263 

The  recovery  of  the  Mohawk  Valley  was  of  such  importance  to  the  Johnsons, 
Butlers,  and  other  refugees  who  accompanied  them  to  Canada  as  to  incite  them  to 
extraordinary  efforts  for  the  accomplishment  of  that  object.  The  exposed  condition 
of  Cherry  Valley  and  the  settlement  upon  Schoharie  Creek  had  caused  the  erection 
of  three  fortifications, — stone  houses  surrounded  with  an  embankment  of  earth  and 
stockaded,  affording  protection  to  the  women  and  children.  Each  of  these  was 
manned  by  a  company  of  soldiers,  with  a  small  brass  field-piece.  A  fort  was  erected 
in  the  Oneida  country,  Forts  Schuyler  and  Dayton  were  strengthened,  and  Fort 
Plain  was  afterwards  enlarged  and  more  strongly  fortified.  In  May,  1778,  the  village 
of  Springfield,  ten  miles  west  of  Cherry  Valley,  had  been  destroyed  by  Brant. 
Cobleskill,  in  the  Schoharie  Valley,  met  the  same  fate  on  July  2,  after  the  defeat  of 
a  small  party  of  Americans  under  Captain  Brunk,  and  on  the  day  following  Wyoming 
was  devastated.  The  settlement  at  Genesee  Flats  was  destroyed  towards  the  close 
of  the  summer.  Seal  ping-parties  continued  to  infest  the  Schoharie  and  neighboring 
settlements  until  late  in  September,  when  their  depredations  were  checked  for  a  time 
by  the  presence  of  troops  from  the  main  army. 

Walter,  the  son  of  Colonel  John  Butler,  who  after  a  year's  imprisonment  had 
escaped  from  Albany,  thirsting  for  revenge,  obtained  from  his  father  the  command 
of  a  detachment  of  his  rangers,  and  permission  to  employ  them,  in  conjunction  with 
Brant,  against  the  settlements  in  Tryon  County.  Their  united  forces  amounted 
to  about  seven  hundred  men.  Information  of  the  movement  was  sent  to  Cherry 
Valley  and  the  Schoharie  forts,  but  the  presence  of  the  Pennsylvania  troops  had 
lulled  the  people  into  fancied  security,  and  the  warning  was  disregarded. 

Cherry  Valley,  the  most  important  settlement  near  the  head-waters  of  the  East 
Branch  of  the  Susquehanna,  was  garrisoned  by  two  hundred  and  fifty  Massachusetts 
troops,  under  Colonel  Ichabod  Alden.  On  November  8  he  received  a  despatch  from 
Fort  Schuyler,  informing  him  that  he  was  to  be  attacked  by  a  large  force  of  Indians 
and  Tories,  then  assembled  upon  the  Tioga  River.  Treating  the  matter  with  uncon 
cern,  Alden  refused  to  permit  the  alarmed  inhabitants  to  move  into  the  fort,  but  on 
the  9th  sent  out  scouting-parties  in  various  directions.  Early  on  the  following  morn 
ing  his  quarters,  which  were  outside  the  fort,  were  surrounded  by  the  enemy,  and 
he  was  tomahawked  and  scalped  while  attempting  to  escape.  Sixteen  soldiers  and 
thirty-two  of  the  inhabitants,  mostly  women  and  children,  were  killed.  Every  house 
was  plundered  and  burned.  The  captured  women  and  children,  being  found  cum 
bersome,  were  sent  back  next  day.  The  inhuman  conduct  of  Walter  Butler,  the 
leader  of  this  foray,  condemned  even  by  the  savage  Brant,  has  consigned  his  name  to 
eternal  infamy.  His  after-career  was  cruel  but  brief,  and  when  in  1781  he  was  slain 
by  the  Oneidas  on  the  banks  of  the  West  Canada  Creek,  his  body  was  left  to  decay, 
while  his  fallen  companions  were  buried  with  respect. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

• 

HOSTILITIES  WITH  THE  WESTERN  INDIANS— THE  SHAWNEES— CORNSTALK— FOKT 
HENRY— CONQUEST  OF  SOUTHERN  ILLINOIS— FORT  LAURENS. 

ALTHOUGH  the  Iroquois  formed,  as  it  were,  the  "  Tenth  Legion"  of  the  hostile 
Indians  employed  in  the  war,  yet  the  "Western  savages  had  from  the  beginning 
evinced  their  hostility  to  the  colonies,  and  were  implicated  to  a  greater  or  less  extent 
in  the  contest  against  them.  This  was,  as  we  have  seen,  the  position  of  the  important 
tribes  of  the  Delawares  and  Shawnees,  then  occupying  the  present  area  of  the  State 
of  Ohio.  These  tribes  had  originally  emigrated  west  of  the  Alleghanies  with  embit 
tered  feelings  against  the  English  colonists  generally.  They  had  accepted  the  treaty 
of  peace  offered  them  in  rather  a  vaunting  spirit  by  Colonel  Bradstreet  on  Lake  Erie 
in  1764,  but  subsequently  renewed  their  hostile  inroads,  and  in  the  autumn  of  the 
same  year,  on  the  banks  of  the  Muskingum,  again  submitted  to  the  army  under 
Colonel  Bouquet,  delivering  up,  as  a  test  of  their  sincerity,  a  large  number  of  pris 
oners,  men,  women,  and  children. 

The  Delawares  had  not  held  a  definite  tribal  position  for  a  long  period,  even  from 
the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century.  They  were  supposed  to  be  in  league  with  the 
French,  and  it  was  an  erroneous  policy  in  Count  Zinzendorf  and  the  Moravian 
Brethren  not  to  set  the  colonies  right  on  this  subject,  laboring  as  they  did  from  their 
advent  in  1740  for  the  benefit  of  the  Delawares,  and  knowing  that  there  was  a 
suspicion  resting  on  them  of  being  favorable  to  the  French  interests.  This  was  the 
cause  of  the  expulsion  of  this  tribe  from  Chicomico,  in  Southern  New  York,  in 
1744,  and  of  their  removal  to  the  Susquehanna.  It  was  likewise  the  occasion  of 
their  ultimate  flight  westward  to  the  banks  of  the  Muskingum,  and  of  the  unfortunate 
massacre  of  their  people  at  Guadenhutten.  But  though  the  proclivities  of  the 
Delawares  were  long  uncertain,  those  of  the  Shawnees  were  not ;  they  assumed  an 
openly  hostile  attitude.  The  latter  tribe  had  at  an  early  period  been  inimical  to  the 
English  colonies,  but,  being  vanquished,  they  had  transferred  their  hatred  to  the 
Americans  the  moment  the  Revolutionary  contest  commenced.  In  1755  they  were 
the  most  bitter  assailants  of  Braddock ;  in  1758 l  they  massacred  the  garrison  of 
Sybert's  Fort,  on  the  Potomac;  they  had  from  the  year  1763  most  strenuously 
opposed  the  settlement  of  Kentucky ;  they  had  in  1774  taken  the  most  prominent 
part  in  resisting  the  expedition  of  Lord  Dunmore ;  and,  according  to  the  best  local 
authorities,1  between  the  years  1770  and  1779  the  activity  and  bitter  hostility  of 
this  celebrated  tribe  converted  the  left  banks  of  the  Ohio,  along  the  borders  of 

1  De  Mass's  History  of  Western  Virginia,  1851,  p.  208.  '  Doddridge,  Withers,  De  Haas. 

264 


THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION.  2G5 

Pennsylvania  and  Virginia,  into  an  aceldama.  Brave  and  dauntless,  but  vacillating, 
their  ruling  passion  was  a  love  of  war,  blood,  and  plunder.  Tradition  affirms  that 
in  ancient  times  they  had  fought  their  way  from  Florida  to  Lake  Erie ;  and  desper 
ately  did  they  oppose  the  advance  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  into  the  Ohio  Valley. 
Their  central  location  was  at  Chillicothe,  on  the  Scioto  River,  which  appears  to  have 
been  from  a  period  long  antecedent  a  metropolis  of  Indian  power.  Their  influence 
controlled  the  entire  valley,  and  they  lived  on  strict  terms  of  amity  with  the  Dela- 
wares,  the  Mingoes,  or  Ohio  Iroquois,  the  Hurons,  Ottawas,  Chippewas,  and  Miamis. 

The  Shawnee  chief  Cornstalk  was  friendly  to  the  colonists,  and  his  voice  and 
influence  were  for  peace,  and  his  efforts  in  that  behalf  were  very  valuable.  He  was 
a  man  of  great  energy,  courage,  and  good  sense,  and  very  reliable.  The  trouble  and 
confusion  then  existing  about  him  led  him  to  cross  the  Ohio  River  in  1777  to  talk 
matters  over  with  the  commander  of  a  post  at  the  mouth  of  the  Big  Kanawha.  The 
Americans,  believing  that  the  Shawnees  were  inclined  to  unite  with  the  British, 
determined  to  retain  him  and  Red  Hawk,  a  subordinate  chief,  who  was  with  him. 
Cornstalk  spoke  freely  of  the  condition  of  affairs,  and  said  to  Captain  Arbuckle,  the 
commander,  that  unless  he  and  his  friends  could  have  assurances  of  protection  from 
the  "  Long-Knives"  they  might  be  compelled  "  to  go  with  the  stream."  This  friendly 
visit  worked  differently  from  what  he  expected.  He  was  not  permitted  to  depart. 
Next  day  an  Indian  on  the  opposite  shore  hailed  the  fort.  He  was  brought  over, 
and  proved  to  be  the  son  of  Cornstalk,  who  was  anxious  for  his  father's  safety.  The 
son  was  also  secured  as  a  hostage.  A  few  days  later  a  white  hunter  was  killed  by 
unknown  Indians.  The  cry  was  instantly  raised,  "Kill  the  red  dogs  in  the  fort!" 
Arbuckle  attempted,  it  is  said,  to  prevent  this,  but  his  life  was  threatened.  The  mob 
rushed  to  the  place  where  the  captives  were  confined.  Cornstalk  met  them  at  the 
door,  and  was  pierced  by  seven  bullets.  His  son  and  Red  Hawk  were  also  slain. 
"  From  that  hour,"  says  Doddridge,  "  peace  was  not  to  be  hoped  for." 

The  Ohio  Valley,  with  its  beautiful  scenery,  its  genial  climate,  and  its  exuberant 
fertility,  had  been  from  its  earliest  discovery  a  subject  of  contention  between  the 
Indians  and  the  white  race.  Red  men  had  fought  for  it  among  themselves  for  many 
years,  as  is  proved  by  its  antiquities,  and  the  whites  succeeded  to  the  controversy. 
The  feet  of  Washington  trod  its  soil  as  early  as  1753,  when  the  charter  of  George 
II.  was  granted  for  its  occupancy.  Although  the  primary  object  of  its  explorationf 
and  of  the  commissioners  and  armies  which  crossed  the  Alleghanies  and  entered  its 
borders,  was  the  furtherance  of  governmental  policy,  it  is  very  evident  that  there  were 
aboriginal  minds  of  sufficient  penetration  to  foresee  that  the  acquisition  of  the  terri 
tory,  and  the  spread  of  the  arts  and  commerce  of  civilized  life,  were  the  ultimate  ends 
in  view.  This  may  readily  be  perceived  in  the  harangues  of  Pontiac  to  the  tribes 
of  the  Northwest  in  the  year  1763,  as  well  as  in  those  of  Tenuskund  at  Wyoming 
and  of  Buckongaheela  at  Kaskaskia.  Every  movement  of  the  whites  towards  the 
West  was  regarded  by  thinking  Indian  minds  as  having  the  same  object  in  view. 

Prior  to  the  expedition  of  Mclntosh,  a  friendly  Delaware  chief,  Koquathaheelon, 
or  White  Eyes,  had  used  his  influence  to  prevent  the  tribes  from  raising  the  hatchet, 

U—34 


266  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

but  an  opposite  influence  was  exercised  by  Captain  Pipe,  and  the  nation  became 
divided.  Such  was  the  state  of  affairs  among  the  Delawares  in  the  spring  of  1778. 
About  this  time  three  noted  Loyalists,  McKee,  Elliot,  and  Girty,  fled  from  Fort  Pitt 
to  the  Delawares  and  used  their  utmost  efforts  against  the  American  cause.  Captain 
Pipe  was  so  much  influenced  by  their  counsel  that  in  a  large  assemblage  of  warriors 
he  concluded  a  harangue  by  declaring  "  every  one  an  enemy  who  refused  to  fight  the 
Americans,  and  that  all  such  ought  to  be  put  to  death."  Koquathaheelon  boldly 
opposed  him,  denounced  the  policy,  and  sent  a  formal  message  to  the  Scioto,  warning 
the  Indians  against  the  counsels  of  the  fugitives  Girty  and  McKee.  This  for  a 
while  had  the  effect  of  keeping  the  Delawares  neutral ;  but  the  tribe  finally  decided 
to  raise  the  hatchet  against  the  struggling  colonies. 

Both  the  Delawares  and  Shawnees  were  greatly  influenced  in  their  councils  by  the 
Wyandots  of  Sandusky,  a  reflective,  clear-minded  people,  who  had  once  been  at  the 
head  of  the  Iroquois  while  that  nation  resided  on  the  Kanawaga,  and  who  still  held  a 
kind  of  umpirage  in  Western  Indian  councils.  It  was  against  the  local  residence  of 
this  tribe  at  Sandusky  that  General  Lachlan  Mclntosh  was  directed  by  Congress  to 
proceed.  He  had  during  the  spring,  with  a  small  force  of  regulars  and  militia, 
descended  the  Ohio  from  Fort  Pitt  to  the  Beaver  River,  where  he  erected  on  a  com 
manding  position  a  fort  called  Mclutosh.  It  intercepted  Indians  ascending  or 
descending  the  Ohio,  as  well  as  interior  marauding  parties  who  reached  the  river  at 
this  point  The  force  assigned  him  for  the  expedition  against  Sandusky  was  one 
thousand  men.  But  such  were  the  delays  in  organizing  it  and  in  marching  through 
a  wilderness  to  the  Tuscarawas,  that  after  reaching  its  banks  he  there  constructed  a 
fort  called  Laurens,  and,  garrisoning  it,  returned  to  Fort  Pitt 

In  the  summer  of  1777,  Simon  Girty,  who,  with  two  other  Tory  emissaries, 
Elliot  and  McKee,  had  been  confined  by  the  patriots  at  Pittsburg,  and  who  was 
inflamed  with  the  spirit  of  revenge,  collected  about  four  hundred  Indian  warriors  at 
Sandusky,  and  marched  towards  Limestone,  now  Maysville,  on  the  Kentucky  fron 
tier.  Fort  Henry,  a  small  work  near  the  mouth  of  Wheeling  Creek  (now  Wheeling), 
was  garrisoned  by  about  forty  men  under  Colonel  Sheppard.  Girty,  undiscovered 
by  Sheppard's  scouts,  appeared  before  the  fort  with  his  followers  early  on  the  morn 
ing  of  September  26.  Fortunately  for  the  settlers  around  the  fort,  they  had  scented 
danger  on  the  previous  evening,  and  taken  refuge  within  its  walls. 

The  first  onset  was  upon  a  reconnoitring  party  under  Captain  Mason,  who  was 
drawn  into  an  ambuscade,  losing  half  his  men.  Of  Captain  Ogle's  party  of  twelve 
who  sallied  out  to  the  assistance  of  Mason,  only  four  escaped,  and  the  little  garrison 
was  reduced  to  only  twelve  men  and  youths,  among  whom  Colonel  Sheppard  and 
Ebenezer  and  Silas  Zaue  were  the  most  prominent.  Ebenezer  Zane,  twenty  years 
later,  founded  Zanesville,  Ohio.  Girty  demanded  the  unconditional  surrender  of  the 
fort.  Although  outnumbered  forty-fold,  Colonel  Sheppard  told  the  scoundrel  that  it 
should  never  be  surrendered  to  him  or  to  any  other  man  while  there  was  an  Amer 
ican  left  to  defend  it.  To  the  fire  of  the  Indians,  kept  up  for  six  hours,  the  sharp 
shooters  from  within  replied  with  fatal  effect  At  noon  they  fell  back,  and  the  firing 


THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION.  267 

ceased.  To  replenish  their  almost  exhausted  stock  of  ammunition,  the  daring  feat 
of  bringing  a  keg  of  powder  to  the  fort  was  successfully  accomplished  by  an  intrepid 
young  woman,  a  sister  of  the  Zanes.  While  returning  at  full  speed  with  the  keg  in 
her  arms,  the  Indians  sent  a  volley  of  bullets  after  her,  but  not  a  ball  touched  her 
person. 

At  half-past  two  o'clock  the  attack  was  renewed.  An  attempt  to  force  the  gate 
was  abandoned  after  six  of  their  number  had  been  shot  down.  Approaching  dark 
ness  did  not  end  the  conflict.  The  Indians  converted  a  hollow  maple  log  into  a  field- 
piece,  and  after  dark  conveyed  it  within  sixty  yards  of  the  fort.  It  was  bound  with 
chains,  filled  to  the  muzzle  with  stones,  pieces  of  iron,  and  other  missiles,  and  dis 
charged  against  the  gate  of  the  fort.  The  log  burst  into  a  thousand  fragments,  scat 
tering  its  projectiles  in  all  directions.  Several  Indians  were  killed,  but  not  a  picket 
of  the  fort  was  injured.  This  failure  discouraged  the  assailants,  and  the  conflict 
ceased  for  the  night.  Early  next  morning  Captain  Swearingen  and  fourteen  men 
arrived  and  fought  their  way  into  the  fort,  and  soon  after  Major  McCulloch  arrived 
with  forty  mounted  men.  His  followers  entered  the  fort  in  safety,  but  he,  becoming 
separated  from  them,  was  obliged  to  fly  in  the  opposite  direction,  and  narrowly 
escaped. 

Hopeless  of  success  after  this  augmentation  of  the  garrison,  Girty  and  his  savage 
band,  setting  fire  to  the  houses  and  fences,  and  killing  three  hundred  head  of  cattle 
belonging  to  the  settlers,  raised  the  siege  and  departed.  Not  a  man  of  the  garrison 
was  lost  during  the  siege,  while  the  loss  of  the  enemy  was  between  sixty  and  one 
hundred.  The  courageous  defence  of  Fort  Henry  was  one  of  the  most  remarkable 
incidents  in  the  long  and  brilliant  record  of  our  border  warfare,  but  it  has  been 
unaccountably  overlooked  by  most  of  our  historians. 

The  erection  of  Forts  Mclntosh  and  Laurens,  on  the  banks  of  the  Beaver  and 
Tuscarawas  Rivers,  demonstrated  to  the  Indians  that  they  would  be  held  accountable 
for  their  actions.  But  a  more  important  military  movement,  one  which  has  had  a 
permanent  and  predominant  influence  on  the  history  of  the  West,  was  originated  in 
the  year  1778.  Western  Virginia  having  suffered  dreadfully  from  the  inroads  of 
the  Shawnces,  Delawares,  and  Mingoes,  General  George  Rogers  Clarke  was  commis 
sioned  by  the  State  authorities  to  invade  the  country  of  the  Illinois.  His  enterprise, 
courage,  and  tact  were  strongly  exemplified  in  this  expedition.  He  descended  the 
western  slope  of  the  Alleghanies  by  the  river  Kanawha,  the  mouth  of  which  was  his 
point  of  rendezvous,  with  a  force  not  exceeding  two  hundred  men.  The  fort  at  this 
point  was  then  invested  by  Indians,  whom  he  successfully  routed  with  the  loss  of 
only  one  man.  His  next  object  of  attack  was  Kaskaskia,  Illinois,  from  which  he 
was  separated  by  a  wilderness  one  thousand  miles  in  extent.  But  he  had  a  force 
of  picked  men  whom  no  lack  of  means  could  discourage,  and  whose  heroic  ardor  no 
opposition  of  natural  impediments  could  dampen.  Descending  the  Ohio  to  its  falls, 
lie  erected  a  small  fort  on  Corn  Island,  in  their  vicinity,  which  he  garrisoned  with  a 
few  men,  and  then  continued  his  course  down  the  river  to  within  sixty  miles  of  its 
mouth,  where  he  landed  his  men,  and  with  only  four  days'  provisions  commenced 


268  TnE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE   UNITED  STATES. 

his  march  across  the  wilderness  to  the  Illinois  country.  He  was  six  days  in  reaching 
Kaskaskia,  during  two  of  which  his  little  army  was  destitute  of  provisions.  Reach 
ing  the  town  at  midnight,  and  finding  the  garrison  and  inhabitants  asleep,  he  carried 
it  by  surprise,  taking  the  commandant,  Rocheblave,  prisoner,  whom  he  immediately 
sent  under  guard  to  Richmond,  together  with  important  letters  and  papers  implicating 
persons  in  power.  The  fort  was  found  to  be  sufficiently  strong  to  have  been  defended 
against  a  force  of  one  thousand  men.  The  following  day,  finding  horses  in  the 
vicinity,  General  Clarke  mounted  about  thirty  of  his  men,  under  Captain  Bowman, 
and  sent  them  against  the  upper  towns  on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi.  They  took 
possession  of  the  French  towns  and  villages  as  high  up  as  Cahokia,  and  in  the  course 
of  three  days  thereafter  no  less  than  three  hundred  of  the  French  inhabitants  took 
the  oath  of  allegiance  to  the  American  government.  Leaving  a  garrison  at  Kas 
kaskia,  General  Clarke  then  proceeded  across  the  country  to  Vincennes,  on  the 
"Wabash,  whicb  he  also  surprised  and  captured.  The  march  was  long,  the  season 
inclement ;  the  track  lay  through  an  unbroken  wilderness  and  overflowed  bottoms. 
His  stock  of  provisions  was  scanty,  and  had  to  be  carried  on  the  backs  of  his  men. 
He  could  muster  only  one  hundred  and  thirty  men,  but  he  succeeded  in  inspiring 
this  handful  with  his  own  heroic  spirit.  The  difficulties  were  much  greater  than  he 
anticipated.  For  days  his  route  led  through  the  drowned  lands  of  Illinois,  his  stock 
of  provisions  became  exhausted,  his  guides  lost  their  way,  and  the  most  intrepid  of 
his  followers  at  times  gave  way  to  despair.  Emerging  at  length  from  these  difficul 
ties,  Vincennes  was  completely  surprised,  the  governor  and  garrison  became  prisoners 
of  war,  and,  like  their  compatriots  at  Kaskaskia,  were  sent  on  to  Virginia.  This 
post  was  in  the  heart  of  the  Miami  country,  which  had  been  the  seat  of  French 
trade,  and  had  been  established  as  a  mission  in  1710.  Its  importance  was  so  much 
felt  by  Governor  Hamilton,  of  Detroit,  that  he  suddenly  mustered  a  force  and  recap 
tured  the  place.  General  Clarke,  who  was  at  Point  Pleasant  (West  Virginia),  on 
hearing  of  this,  although  it  was  then  winter,  determined  to  retake  the  post,  and,  with 
a  resolute  party  of  men,  who  during  their  march  frequently  waded  through  water 
breast-high,  executed  his  purpose,  also  making  Hamilton  prisoner.  This  man  was  a 
rough,  bad-tempered,  and  cruel  officer,  who  had  excited  the  ire  of  the  Indians  by  his 
malignancy. 

The  effect  of  these  movements  on  the  mass  of  the  Indians  was  more  important  in 
a  political  view  than  it  appeared  to  be.  Kaskaskia  and  Vincennes  had  been  mere 
outposts  to  Detroit,  which  was  a  depot  for  the  prisoners  taken  by  the  Indians,  and 
where  they  received  the  rewards  for  the  scalps  they  brought  in. 

The  effect  upon  the  Delaware  nation  of  the  operations  during  this  year,  of  which 
Fort  Pitt  was  the  centre,  was  to  promote  the  conclusion  of  a  treaty  of  peace,  which 
was  signed  on  the  17th  of  September,  1778,  by  the  chiefs  Koquathaheelon,  or  White 
Eyes,  Pipe,  and  Killbuck,  before  Generals  Andrew  and  Thomas  Lewis.  This  was 
the  first  of  a  long  list  of  treaties  with  the  Indian  tribes,  in  which  the  nations,  when 
pressed  by  war,  sometimes  made  a  virtue  of  necessity,  and  conceded  points  which  on 
some  occasions  the  want  of  popular  support,  and  ngain  the  lack  of  power  in  their 


THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION.  269 

governments,  did  not  enable  them  to  comply  with,  although  the  aboriginal  delegates 
who  gave  their  assent  to  them  did  so  with  full  integrity  of  purpose.  It  is  certain 
that  the  Delaware  nation  was  soon  afterwards  engaged  in  hostilities  against  the  United 
States,  for  besides  the  recognition  of  this  fact  by  the  treaty  of  Fort  Mclntosh,  dated 
June  21,  1785,  a  supplementary  article  to  that  treaty  provided  that  the  chiefs 
Kelelamand,  White  Eyes,  and  one  or  two  other  persons  of  note,  who  took  up  the 
hatchet  for  the  United  States,  should  be  received  back  into  the  Delaware  nation,  and 
reinstated  in  all  their  original  rights  without  any  prejudice. 

Fort  Laurens,  erected  on  the  Tuscarawas  in  1778  by  General  Mclntosh,  at  the 
terminus  of  his  march  against  Sandusky,  was  left  in  command  of  Colonel  Gibson, 
with  a  garrison  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  men.  It  was  the  custom  of  the  garrison  to 
put  bells  on  their  horses  and  send  them  out  to  graze  in  the  vicinity,  where  they  were 
visited  and  looked  after.  This  being  observed  by  the  Indians  who  infested  the 
surrounding  forests,  they  stole  all  the  animals,  first  removing  the  bells  from  their 
necks.  Selecting  a  spot  suitable  for  an  ambuscade,  the  bells  were  tied  to  the  stalks 
of  stout  weeds  or  flexible  twigs,  and  the  Indians,  lying  down  on  the  ground,  care 
fully  shook  them,  so  as  to  simulate  the  noise  they  would  make  while  the  horses  were 
cropping  grass.  The  stratagem  succeeded.  Of  a  party  of  sixteen  men  sent  to  catch 
the  animals,  which  were  supposed  to  have  strayed,  fourteen  were  shot  dead,  and  the 
other  two  were  taken  prisoners :  one  of  the  latter  returned  after  the  termination  of 
the  war,  but  his  comrade  was  never  more  heard  of.  Flushed  with  the  success  of  this 
manoeuvre,  the  entire  body  of  Indians  towards  evening  marched  across  the  prairie  in 
full  view  of  the  garrison,  but  at  a  safe  distance.  Eight  hundred  and  forty  warriors 
were  counted  from  one  of  the  bastions,  painted  and  feathered  for  war,  and  appearing 
to  make  this  display  as  a  challenge  to  combat.  They  then  crossed  the  Tuscarawas, 
and  encamped  on  an  elevated  site  within  view  of  the  fort,  where  they  remained  for 
several  weeks  watching  the  garrison.  While  located  at  this  spot  they  affected  to  keep 
up  a  good  understanding  with  the  officers  of  the  fort  through  one  of  those  speaking 
go-betweens  who  have  been  so  fruitful  of  mischief  in  our  military  history.  At 
length,  their  resources  failing,  they  sent  word  that  if  a  barrel  of  flour  was  supplied 
to  them  they  would  on  the  following  day  submit  proposals  of  peace.  The  flour 
being  duly  delivered,  the  whole  gang  immediately  decamped,  removing  to  some  part 
of  the  forest  where  so  considerable  a  body  could  more  readily  obtain  subsistence. 

It  has  ever  been  a  fatal  mistake  to  put  trust  in  Indian  fidelity  under  such  circum 
stances.  A  party  of  spies  were  left  by  the  Indians  in  the  woods.  As  the  supplies 
of  the  garrison  began  to  diminish,  the  invalids,  amounting  to  ten  or  a  dozen  men, 
were  sent  to  Fort  Mclntosh  under  an  escort  of  fifteen  men,  commanded  by  Colonel 
Clark,  of  the  line.  This  party  had  proceeded  but  two  miles  when  they  were  suddenly 
surrounded  by  the  Indians,  and  all  killed  except  four,  one  of  whom,  a  captain, 
succeeded  in  effecting  his  escape  to  the  fort. 

The  garrison  now  experienced  severe  suffering  from  hunger,  the  fort  being  in  a 
remote  position,  so  that  it  could  be  supplied  only  by  means  of  trains  of  pack-horses, 
convoyed  through  the  wilderness  by  expensive  escorts.  Fortunately,  General 


270  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Mclntosh  arrived  with  supplies  and  seven  hundred  men ;  but  the  joy  produced  bj 
his  arrival  wellnigh  proved  a  fatal  misfortune,  as  the  salute  of  musketry  fired  from 
the  ramparts  caused  a  stampede  among  the  horses  of  the  pack-trains,  which,  running 
affrighted  through  the  forest,  scattered  their  burdens  of  provisions  and  flour  on  the 
ground.  When  Mclntosh  departed  from  the  fort  he  left  Major  Vernon  in  command, 
who,  being  finally  reduced  to  great  straits,  and  finding  himself  surrounded  by  a 
powerful  and  treacherous  enemy,  abandoned  the  fort,  and  returned  with  his  command 
to  Fort  Mclntosh.  These  transactions  furnish  material  for  a  good  commentary  on 
the  treaty  of  Fort  Pitt,  concluded  on  the  17th  of  the  preceding  September.  The 
Delawares,  who  signed  this  treaty,  occupied  the  entire  valley  of  the  Muskingum, 
of  which  the  Tuscarawas  is  a  branch,  and,  being  generally  under  the  sway  of  the 
Wyandots  of  Sandusky,  had  in  fact  no  power  to  carry  out,  even  if  they  possessed 
the  authority  to  conclude,  such  a  treaty. 

The  erection  of  Fort  Laurens  was,  in  truth,  a  monument  of  the  failure  of  the 
military  expedition  against  Detroit,  projected  with  so  much  confidence  at  that  time, 
and  its  abandonment  may  be  regarded  as  an  admission  of  the  uselessness  of  the 
position  as  a  check  upon  the  Indians. 

While  these  movements  were  going  forward  on  the  Tuscarawas  and  in  the  forests 
surrounding  Fort  Laurens,  the  Indians  perpetrated  a  series  of  heart-rending  mur 
ders  along  the  river  Monongahela.1  A  recital  of  these  atrocities  would  only  serve 
to  prove  that  no  trust  could  be  placed  in  any  public  avowal  of  friendship  by  the 
savages,  whether  professed  in  conferences  or  by  formal  treaties. 

1  De  Haas's  History  of  Western  Virginia,  p.  208;  Wheeling,  1851.  Chronicles  of  Border  Warfare, 
Clariuburg,  Virginia,  1831.  It  appears  from  this  author  that  fifteen  persons  in  Western  Virginia  of  the 
name  of  Schooleraft  (connections  of  the  writer)  were  killed  or  carried  into  captivity  by  the  Shawnees  during 
this  period. 


CHAPTER    V. 

BATTLE  OF  MINNISINK— SULLIVAN  RAVAGES  THE  IROQUOIS  TERRITORY— INDIAN 
AND  TORY  RAIDS  IN  WESTERN  NEW  YORK— CHEROKEE  HOSTILITIES— MAS 
SACRE  OF  THE  MORAVIAN  DELAWARES. 

THE  frequency  and  severity  of  the  attacks  made  by  the  Iroquois  on  the  frontiers 
of  New  York  and  Pennsylvania  induced  the  Americans  to  make  a  sudden  descent 
during  this  year  on  the  Onondagas.  The  execution  of  this  enterprise  was  committed 
to  Colonel  Van  Schaick  by  General  James  Clinton,  the  commanding  officer  in  that 
district.  Five  hundred  and  fifty-eight  men,  accompanied  by  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Willett,  and  furnished  with  every  necessary  supply,  embarked  in  thirty  bateaux  on 
Wood  Creek,  west  of  the  Fort  Stauwix  summit,  and,  passing  rapidly  through  Oneida 
Lake  and  River,  landed  during  the  night  at  the  site  of  old  Fort  Brewerton,  whence 
they  pressed  swiftly  forward,  using  every  precaution  to  prevent  an  alarm.  The  sur 
prise  would  have  been  complete  but  for  the  capture  of  a  warrior  near  the  castle. 
As  it  was,  however,  thirty-three  warriors  were  killed,  and  the  rest  fled  in  the  utmost 
consternation,  leaving  behind  them  all  their  stores,  arms,  and  provisions.  The  castle 
and  village  were  burned,  and  the  country  devastated  within  a  circuit  of  ten  miles. 
The  army  then  returned  to  Fort  Stanwix,  or  Schuyler,  without  the  loss  of  a  man. 

It  is  doubtful  whether  such  retributive  measures  are  attended  by  any  advantage*. 
The  Onondagas  determining  to  retaliate,  Brant  placed  himself  at  the  head  of  three 
hundred  warriors  of  that  and  other  tribes,  who  attacked  Schoharie  and  its  environs, 
which  had  so  frequently,  since  the  commencement  of  the  Revolution,  been  the  scene 
of  every  species  of  Indian  outrage, — the  property  of  the  inhabitants  plundered,  their 
houses  burned,  and  themselves  murdered  and  scalped.  It  appeared  as  if  the  Mohawk 
Indians,  and  their  beau-ideal,  Brant,  could  never  forgive  the  sturdy  patriotism  of  the 
people  of  that  valley. 

Palatine,  in  the  Mohawk  Valley,  was  at  the  same  time  attacked  by  parties  of 
Indians  from  the  Canada  border,  and  many  persons  killed ;  but  no  event  which 
occurred  during  this  year  made  so  deep  an  impression  on  the  public  mind  as  the 
battle  and  massacre  at  Minnisink,  a  fertile  island  in  the  Delaware  River,  which  had 
long  been  the  camping-  and  council-ground  of  the  Lenape  and  of  the  Southern 
Indians  in  their  progress  to  the  Hudson  Valley  by  way  of  the  Wallkill.  Few 
places  have  better  claims  to  antiquarian  interest  than  the  town  of  Minnisink,  or 
"The  Place  of  the  Island." 

Having  reached  the  vicinity  of  this  town  on  the  night  of  July  19,  with  sixty 
warriors  and  twenty-seven  Tories  disguised  as  Indians,  Brant  attacked  it  while  the 
inhabitants  were  asleep,  burned  two  dwelling-houses,  twelve  barns,  a  small  stockade 

271 


272  TEE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

fort,  and  two  mills,  killed  several  of  the  inhabitants,  took  others  prisoners,  and  then 
ravaged  the  surrounding  farms,  driving  off  the  cattle  and  horses  to  the  place  where 
he  had  left  the  main  body  of  his  warriors.  When  intelligence  of  this  outrage  reached 
Goehen,  the  excitement  became  intense.  A  militia  force  of  one  hundred  and  forty- 
nine  men  instantly  marched  from  Orange  County  in  pursuit,  and  overtook  the  enemy 
on  the  second  day. 

Their  leader,  Colonel  Tusten,  well  acquainted  with  the  craftiness  and  skill  of 
Brant,  opposed  the  measure,  as  too  hazardous  with  their  small  force.  He  was  over 
ruled,  and  Colonel  Hathorne,  of  the  Warwick  militia,  Tusten 's  senior,  joining  them 
with  a  small  reinforcement  just  before  the  battle,  took  command.  At  Half- Way 
Brook  they  came  upon  the  Indian  encampment  of  the  previous  night,  its  numerous 
watch-fires  still  smoking,  indicating  a  large  force.  The  two  colonels,  with  the  more 
cautious  of  the  company,  were  for  discontinuing  the  pursuit,  but  they  were  opposed 
by  a  large  majority,  and  all  pressed  eagerly  forward.  At  nine  o'clock  on  the  morning 
of  the  22d  the  enemy  were  in  sight,  moving  towards  a  fording-place.  Hathorne  so 
disposed  his  men  as  to  intercept  them,  but  Brant,  perceiving  his  design,  wheeled  his 
forces,  and,  gaining  a  deep  ravine  which  the  whites  had  crossed,  took  up  an  advan 
tageous  position  in  their  rear,  and  then  formed  an  ambuscade. 

Disappointed  in  not  finding  the  enemy,  the  Americans  were  marching  back, 
when  they  were  fired  upon.  A  desperate  contest  ensued,  lasting  from  eleven  in  the 
morning  until  sunset,  when  the  ammunition  of  the  Orange  County  men  failed.  The 
Indians  were  greatly  superior  in  numbers,  and  one-third  of  Hathorne's  troops  became 
separated  from  the  rest  at  the  commencement  of  the  action.  A  final  attack  broke 
the  hollow  square  of  the  Americans,  who  retreated.  One  hundred  and  two  had 
fallen,  and  seventeen,  who  were  wounded,  were  placed  under  Dr.  Tusteu's  care 
behind  a  rocky  point  The  Indians  rushed  upon  them  furiously  and  tomahawked 
them  all,  notwithstanding  their  appeals  for  mercy.  Brant  himself  sunk  his  toma 
hawk  in  the  head  of  Colonel  Wisner,  one  of  the  wounded,  and  his  savage  cruelty 
on  this  occasion  remains  one  of  the  darkest  stains  upon  his  memory. 

It  is  probable  that  this  atrocity  was  one  of  the  immediate  causes  of  the  expedition 
under  General  Sullivan,  which  marched  against  the  Iroquois  cantons  during  the 
following  year. 

While  these  events  were  occurring  in  New  York,  a  body  of  two  hundred  Indians 
and  one  hundred  refugee  Royalists,  under  the  command  of  McDonald,  appeared  on 
the  borders  of  Northampton  County,  Pennsylvania,  where  they  burned  many  houses 
and  committed  several  murders.  A  few  days  subsequently  they  invested  Freeland'a 
Fort,  on  the  Susquehanna,  the  garrison  of  which  was  too  weak  to  defend  the  works, 
which  had  served  principally  as  a  shelter  for  women  and  children  while  the  men 
were  attending  to  the  duties  which  they  owed  their  country.  Captain  Hawkins 
Boon,  who  with  thirty  men  was  stationed  in  the  vicinity,  marched  to  the  relief  of  the 
fort,  and,  upon  finding  that  it  had  been  surrendered,  valiantly  attacked  the  besiegers, 
and  was  killed,  together  with  eighteen  of  his  men.  This  affair  happened  about  the 
same  time  as  the  tragic  events  of  Minnisink. 


THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION.  273 

The  war  had  now  continued  nearly  five  years,  and  the  operations  of  the  British 
army  during  that  period,  north,  south,  east,  and  west,  had  proved  a  severe  tax  on  the 
military  resources  and  strength  of  the  country.  But  these  sacrifices  to  patriotism 
and  high  principles  were  considered  as  nothing  compared  to  the  sufferings  caused  by 
the  savage  auxiliaries  of  the  British  armies,  who  were  utter  strangers  to  the  laws  of 
humanity.  The  Americans  bitterly  reproached  their  foes  for  paying  their  Indian 
allies  a  price  for  the  scalps  they  took,  and  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  the  censure 
was  justly  deserved. 

It  was  the  opinion  of  Washington  that  the  cheapest  and  most  effectual  mode  of 
opposing  the  Indians  was  to  carry  the  war  into  their  country.  These  tribes,  nurtured 
in  the  secret  recesses  of  the  forest,  were  thoroughly  acquainted  with  every  avenue 
through  their  depths,  and  thence  pounced  upon  the  unguarded  settlements  when 
least  expected,  flying  back  to  their  lairs  in  the  wilderness  before  an  effective  mili- 
•  tary  force  could  be  concentrated  to  pursue  them.  By  these  inroads,  Washington 
observes,  the  Indians  had  everything  to  gain,  and  very  little  to  lose,  whereas  the  very 
reverse  would  be  the  case  if  their  towns  and  retreats  were  visited  with  the  calamities 
of  war. 

Conformably  to  these  views,  the  year  1779  witnessed  the  march  of  the  well- 
organized  army  of  General  Sullivan  into  the  heart  of  the  country  occupied  by  the 
Iroquois  confederacy  at  a  season  when  their  orchards  and  fields  were  fully  laden  with 
grain  and  fruits.  It  was  a  part  of  the  plan  of  the  expedition  to  penetrate  the  country 
to  Niagara,  and  break  up  "  the  nest  of  vipers"  there.  Sullivan  had  gallantly  aided 
Washington  in  the  capture  of  Trenton,  and  was  selected  for  this  service  after  mature 
consideration.1  His  entire  force  consisted  of  two  divisions,  one  of  which,  under 
General  James  Clinton,  marched  from  Central  New. York  northwardly  through  the 
Mohawk  Valley,  and  the  other,  from  Pennsylvania,  ascended  the  Susquehanna. 
Clinton,  with  five  brigades,  proceeded  with  great  rapidity  across  the  country  from 
Canajoharie,  his  point  d'appui  on  the  Mohawk,  to  Otscgo  Lake,  carrying  with  him 
two  hundred  and  twenty  bateaux,  all  his  stores,  artillery,  and  a  full  supply  of  pro 
visions.  From  this  point  he  followed  the  outlet  of  the  lake  into  the  Susquehanna, 
joining  General  Sullivan  and  the  Pennsylvania  troops  at  Tioga  Point.  Their  total 
force  amounted  to  five  thousand  men.  It  included  the  brigades  of  Clinton,  Hand, 
Maxwell,  and  Poor,  together  with  Proctor's  artillery  and  a  corps  of  riflemen.  After 
the  delays  incident  to  the  collection  and  regulation  of  such  a  body  of  troops,  the 
army  proceeded  up  the  river  late  in  August,  and  ascended  the  Chemung  branch  to 
Newtown,  at  present  called  Elmira.  The  enemy,  anticipating  the  movement,  had 
prepared  to  oppose  the  army  by  erecting  a  breastwork  across  a  peninsula  in  front  of 
the  place  of  landing,  thus  occupying  a  formidable  position.  Brant  commanded  the 
Iroquois,  mustering  fifteen  hundred  warriors,  who  were  supported  by  two  hundred 
regular  British  troops  and  rangers,  under  Colonel  John  Butler,  Sir  John  Johnson, 
and  some  of  the  other  noted  Koyalist  commanders  of  that  period  This  force  was  BO 

*  Gates  had  boen  at  first  proponed. 
II— 35 


274  TB&  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

disposed  among  the  adjoining  hills,  and  screened  by  brush,  thickets,  and  logs,  as  to 
be  entirely  concealed,  and  it  was  so  covered  by  a  bend  in  the  river  that  only  the 
front  and  one  flank  were  exposed  to  the  fire  of  the  assailants.    That  flank  rested 
upon  a  steep  hill  or  ridge  running  nearly  parallel  with  the  river.    Farther  to  the 
left  was  another  ridge,  running  in  the  same  direction,  and  passing  in  the  rear  of  the 
Americans.     Detachments  of  the  enemy  were  stationed  on  both  hills,  having  a  line 
of  communication,  and  they  were  so  disposed  that  they  might  fall  upon  the  assail 
ants'  flank  and  rear  as  soon  as  the  action  should  commence.     Their  connecting  forti 
fication  was  so  disposed  that  both  flanks  of  the  army  would  be  exposed  to  an 
enfilading  fire.     The  army  landed  on  the  29th  of  August,  and  the  enemy's  position 
was  discovered  by  the  advance  guard,  under  Major  Parr,  at  eleven  o'clock  in  the 
morning.     General  Hand  immediately  formed  the  light  infantry  in  a  wood  within 
four  hundred  yards  of  the  Indian  breastwork,  where  he  remained  until  the  rest  of 
the  troops  came  up.     While  these  movements  were  in  progress,  small  parties  of 
Indians  sallied  from  their  intrenchments  and  began  a  desultory  firing,  as  suddenly 
retreating  when  attacked,  and  making  the  woods  resound  with  their  savage  yells. 
Their  intention  evidently  was  to  induce  the  belief  that  they  were  present  in  very 
great  numbers,  and  were  the  only  force  to  be  encountered.     Judging  truly  that  the 
hill  on  his  right  was  occupied  by  the  Indians,  Sullivan  ordered  Poor  with  his  brigade 
to  attempt  its  ascent,  and  to  endeavor  to  turn  the  enemy's  left  flank,  while  the  artil 
lery,  supported  by  the  main  body  of  the  army,  attacked  them  in  front.     Both  orders 
were  promptly  executed.     The  ascent  being  gained,  the  Americans  poured  in  their 
fire,  while  the  enemy  for  two  hours  withstood  a  heavy  fire  directly  in  front.     Both 
the  Indians  and  their  allies  fought  manfully,  but  the  Americans  pressed  on  with 
great  determination.     Every  tree,  rock,  and  thicket  sheltered  an  enemy,  who  sent 
forth  his  deadly  messengers.     The  Indians  yielded  slowly,  and,  as  it  were,  inch  by 
inch,  being  frequently  driven  from  their  shelter  at  the  point  of  the  bayonet.     Such 
obstinacy  had  not  been  paralleled  since  the  battle  of  Oriskany.     Brant,  the  moving 
and  animating  spirit  of  the  Indians,  urged  on  the  warriors  with  his  voice,  and  their 
incessant  yells  almost  drowned  the  noise  of  the  conflict,  until  the  quickly  succeeding 
and  regular  reverberations  of  the  artillery  overpowered  all  other  sounds.     It  was 
remarked  by  an  officer  who  was  present  that  the  roar  of  this  cannonade  was  most 
commanding  and  "  elegant."     The  Indians  still  maintained  their  ground  in  front, 
though  the  tremendous  fire  from  Poor's  brigade  had  so  thinned  their  flank  that  a 
reinforcement  of  a  battalion  of  rangers  was  ordered  up  to  sustain  it.     In  vain  did 
the  enemy  contest  the  ground  from  point  to  point,  endeavoring  to  maintain  a  position. 
This  officer  at  length  ascended  the  hill  and  attacked  them  in  flank,  a  move  which 
decided  the  fortunes  of  the  day.     Observing  that  they  were  in  danger  of  being  sur 
rounded,  the  yell  of  retreat  was  sounded  by  the  Indians,  and  red  and  white  men, 
impelled  by  one  impulse,  precipitately  fled  across  the  Chemung  River,  abandoning 
their  works,  their  packs,  provisions,  and  a  quantity  of  arms.     The  action  had  been 
protracted  and  sanguinary.     Contrary  to  the  Indian  custom,  some  of  their  warriors 
who  had  fallen  were  left  on  the  battle-field,  and  others  were  found  hastily  buried  by 


THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION  275 

the  way.     The  American  loss  was  but  six  killed  and  fifty  wounded.     A  large  part 
of  Sullivan's  force  was  not  brought  into  action  at  all. 

This  battle,  as  subsequent  events  proved,  decided  the  result  of  the  campaign.  It 
vindicated  the  opinion  of  Washington  that  the  Indians  must  be  encountered  in  their 
own  country,  and  it  effectually  destroyed  the  Iroquois  confederacy. 

The  results  of  the  campaign  may  be  easily  demonstrated.  The  Indians,  having 
fled  in  a  panic,  never  stopped  until  they  reached  the  head  of  Seneca  Lake,  whence 
they  scattered  to  their  respective  villages.  They  did  not  rally,  as  they  might  have 
done,  and  oppose  Sullivan's  forces  at  defiles  on  the  route.  The  Americans  pur 
sued  them  vigorously,  with  four  brass  three-pounders  and  the  entire  disposable  force. 
The  army  encamped  at  Catherine's  Town  on  the  2d  of  September,  and  began  to 
destroy  villages,  corn-fields,  and  orchards  in  the  surrounding  country,  continuing 
the  work  of  devastation  through  the  Genesee  country  and  the  Genesee  Valley.  On 
the  7th  of  the  month  the  army  crossed  the  outlet  of  Seneca  Lake,  and  moved  for 
ward  to  the  capital  of  the  Seneca  tribe,  Kanadaseagea,  now  Geneva.  This  place  con 
tained  about  sixty  houses,  surrounded  with  gardens,  orchards  of  apple-  and  peach- 
trees,  and  luxuriant  corn-fields.  Butler,  the  commandant  of  the  defeated  rangers, 
had  endeavored  to  induce  the  Senecas  to  rally  here,  but  in  vain.  They  fled,  aban 
doning  everything,  and  the  torch  and  axe  of  their  foes  were  employed  to  level  every 
tenement  and  living  fruit-tree  to  the  ground. 

From  this  point  the  army  proceeded  to  Canandaigua,  where  were  found  twenty- 
three  large  and  "  elegant"  houses,  mostly  frame,  together  with  very  extensive  fields 
of  corn,  all  of  which  were  destroyed.  The  next  point  of  note  in  the  march  was 
Honeoye,  a  village  containing  ten  houses,  which  were  burned.  Here  a  small  post 
was  established  as  a  depot  As  General  Sullivan  advanced  towards  the  valley  of  the 
Genesee,  the  Indians  determined  again  to  oppose  him,  and,  having  organized  their 
forces,  presented  themselves  in  battle-array  between  Honeoye  and  Conesus  Lake. 
They  attacked  the  advance-guard  in  mistake,  supposing  it  to  be  the  entire  force,  but, 
having  seen  it  fall  back  on  the  main  army,  they  did  not  await  the  approach  of  the 
*  latter.  In  this  affray  they  captured  a  friendly  Oneida,  who  was  inhumanly  butch 
ered  by  a  malignant  chief  named  Little  Beard.  At  this  time,  also,  Lieutenant  Boyd, 
who  had  been  sent  out  with  twenty-six  men  to  reconnoitre  Little  Beard's  town,  was 
captured,  and  most  inhumanly  tortured,  notwithstanding  his  appeal  to  Brant  as  a 
Masonic  brother. 

The  army  moved  forward  to  the  flats  of  the  Genesee,  where  the  Indians  made  a 
show  of  resistance.  General  Clinton  immediately  prepared  to  attack  and  surround 
them  by  extending  his  flanks,  but,  observing  the  object  of  his  movement,  they  re 
treated.  The  army  then  crossed  the  Genesee  to  the  principal  town  of  the  Indians, 
containing  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight  houses,  which  were  burned,  and  the  sur 
rounding  fields  destroyed.  It  was  these  fertile  fields  which  had  furnished  the  savages 
with  the  means  of  carrying  on  their  predatory  and  murderous  expeditions.  General 
Sullivan  had  been  instructed  to  make  them  feel  the  strength  of  the  American  arms 
with  the  bitterness  of  domestic  desolation,  for  which  purpose  detachments  were  sent 


276  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

out  at  every  suitable  point  to  lay  waste  their  fields,  cut  down  their  orchards,  destroy 
their  villages,  and  cripple  them  in  their  means.  In  carrying  out  these  orders  not 
less  than  forty  Indian  towns  were  burned,  and  the  tourist  who  after  the  lapse  of  a 
hundred  years  visits  the  ruins  caused  by  these  acts  of  military  vengeance  is  forcibly 
reminded  of  the  spirit  of  destruction  which  descended  upon  the  Indian  villages  and 
orchards.  Having  accomplished  one  of  the  objects  of  the  expedition,  the  army 
recrossed  the  Genesee  on  the  16th  of  September,  passed  the  outlet  of  Seneca  Lake 
on  the  20th,  reached  the  original  rendezvous  at  Tioga  on  the  30th,  and  within  a 
fortnight  returned  to  their  respective  points  of  departure.  Why  Sullivan  did  not 
extend  his  victorious  march  to  Niagara,  the  head-quarters  of  the  Tories  and  Indians, 
the  breaking  up  of  which  would  have  secured  a  period  of  repose  to  the  white  settle 
ments,  is  not  clearly  understood.  The  terrible  chastisement  inflicted  by  him,  while 
it  awed  the  Indians,  did  not  crush  them.  It  strengthened  their  hatred  for  the  white 
man,  and  extended  it  through  the  tribes  upon  the  Lakes  and  in  the  valley  of  the 
Ohio.  Washington  was  named  by  them  An-na-ta-kaw-see,  taker  of  towns,  or  town- 
destroyer. 

Towards  the  close  of  this  year  a  detachment  of  seventy  men  from  the  Kentucky 
district  of  Virginia,  under  Major  Rodgers,  was  surprised  by  the  Shawnees  while 
ascending  the  Ohio  River.  On  approaching  the  mouth  of  the  Licking  River  they 
discovered  a  few  hostile  Indians  standing  on  a  sand-bar,  whilst  a  canoe  was  being 
propelled  towards  them,  as  if  its  occupants  desired  to  hold  friendly  intercourse. 
Rodgers,  who  was  on  the  alert,  immediately  made  his  boat  fast  to  the  shore,  and 
went  in  pursuit  of  the  Indians  he  had  seen.  They  proved  to  be  only  a  decoy  to  lead 
him  into  an  ambuscade.  The  moment  he  landed  and  commenced  an  assault  on  the 
small  party,  an  overwhelming  number  of  the  enemy  issued  from  their  concealment, 
poured  in  a  heavy  and  deadly  fire,  and  then  rushed  forward  with  their  tomahawks, 
instantly  killing  Rodgers  and  forty-five  of  his  men.  The  remainder  fled  towards 
the  boat,  but  the  Indians  had  anticipated  them  by  its  capture.  Retreat  being  thus 
cut  off,  they  faced  the  foe,  and  fought  desperately  as  long  as  daylight  lasted,  when  a 
small  number  succeeded  in  escaping,  and  finally  reached  Harrisburg.  The  details 
of  the  escape  of  Benham,  who  was  shot  through  the  hips  on  this  occasion,  possess  a 
thrilling  interest 

The  expedition  of  Sullivan  against  the  Iroquois  proved  so  destructive  to  them 
that  they  were  compelled- to  seek  food  and  shelter  from  the  British  authorities  at 
Niagara.  The  adherence  to  the  American  cause  of  the  Oneidas  and  Tuscaroras, 
living  on  their  lands,  had  occasioned  ill  feeHags  to  be  entertained  by  the  other  Iro 
quois  against  them.  Every  persuasion  had  been  used  in  vain  to  induce  them  to  join 
the  royal  standard.  Their  conduct  at  Oriskany,  and  their  hospitality  to  the  mis 
sionary  Kirkland,  had  been  the  subject  of  sharp  remonstrances  by  Guy  Johnson, 
who  peremptorily  ordered  Kirkland  to  leave  the  country.  Although  but  few  of 
these  tribes  joined  General  Clinton's  division  in  the  Geuesee  campaign,  and  those 
only  as  guides,  yet  when  the  Senecas  captured  the  faithful  guide,  Honyerry,  at  Boyd's 
defeat,  in  their  rage  they  literally  hewed  him  in  pieces.  General  Haldimand,  of 


THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION.  277 

Canada,  had  in  a  special  written  message  threatened  vengeance  on  the  Oncida  tribes 
for  deserting,  as  lie  termed  it,  the  British  cause,  and  thus  forgetting  the  wise  counsels 
of  their  old  and  respected  but  deceased  friend  Sir  William  Johnson.  This  purpose, 
notwithstanding  the  severity  of  the  winter,  he  executed,  with  the  assistance  of  Brant 
and  a  force  of  Tories.  Suddenly  attacking  the  village  of  Oneida  Castle,  they  drove 
the  Indians  from  this  ancient  seat,  burned  their  dwellings,  their  church,  and  their 
school-house,  and  destroyed  their  corn,  as  well  as  every  other  means  of  subsistence. 
The  Oneidas  fled  to  the  Lower  Mohawk,  where  they  were  protected  and  supported 
during  the  rest  of  the  war. 

In  the  month  of  May  Sir  John  Johnson  entered  Johnstown  with  five  hundred 
regulars,  a  detachment  of  his  own  regiment  of  Royal  Greens,  and  about  two  hundred 
Indians  and  Tories.  Marching  from  the  direction  of  Crown  Point  through  the 
woods  to  the  Sacondaga,  they  entered  the  valley  of  the  Mohawk  at  midnight  entirely 
unheralded.  This  foray  was  one  of  the  most  shocking  transactions  of  the  whole 
war.  The  Indians  roved  from  house  to  house,  murdering  the  inhabitants,  and  plun 
dering,  destroying,  and  burning  their  property.  Among  the  number  of  those  slain 
by  the  savages  were  four  octogenarians,  whose  locks  were  silvered  by  age,  including 
the  patriot  Fonda,  of  the  Mohawk  Valley.  Cattle  and  sheep  were  driven  off,  and. 
horses  stolen  from  their  stalls.  Sir  John  recovered  the  plate  which  had  been  buried 
in  his  cellars  in  1776,  and  then  retraced  his  steps  to  Canada,  after  having  left  a  last 
ing  mark  of  his  vengeance  on  the  home  and  familiar  scenes  of  his  childhood  and 
the  country  of  his  youth,  notwithstanding  his  father  had  there  risen  to  power  and 
greatness  from  an  obscure  original,  and  that  his  bones  were  there  buried.  The 
Mohawk  Valley  had  been  subjected  to  the  twofold  vengeance  of  the  Indians  and  the 
Tories,  who  rivalled  one  another  in  their  deeds  of  cruelty  and  vandalism,  until  it  pre 
sented  as  denuded  an  appearance  as  a  swept  threshing-floor.  The  flail  of  warfare 
had  beaten  out  everything  except  that  sturdy  patriotism  which  increased  in  strength 
in  proportion  to  the  magnitude  of  its  trials.  This  attack  was  conducted  in  a  stealthy 
and  silent  manner.  No  patriotic  drum  had  sounded  the  call  to  arms.  The  enemy 
advanced  with  the  noiseless  tread  of  the  tiger,  and  returned  to  their  haunts  with  the 
tiger's  reward, — blood  and  plunder. 

Some  allowance  must  be  made  for  the  complicity  of  the  aborigines  in  this  preda 
tory  warfare,  on  account  of  their  ignorance  and  their  natural  lack  of  humane  feel 
ings.  This  will  not,  however,  apply  to  men  educated  in  the  principles  of  civiliza 
tion.  Even  Thayendanagea,  the  Typhon  of  the  Revolution,  found  apologists  for  the 
greatest  of  his  enormities,  and  we  have  certainly  high  authority  for  the  palliation  of 
crime  in  those  who  know  not  what  they  do.  But  nothing  can  excuse  the  conduct 
of  those  who  perpetrate  crimes  with  a  clear  moral  perception  of  the  enormity  of  their 
deeds. 

Scarcely  had  Sir  John  Johnson  and  his  myrmidons  returned  in  safety  to  Canada 
when  the  nefarious  business  of  plunder,  murder,  and  arson  was  resumed  in  the 
Schoharie  Valley,  which  had  ever  been  deemed  one  of  the  richest  agricultural  regions 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  Mohawk.  From  the  year  1712,  the  period  of  its  first  settle- 


278  TRE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

ment  by  Europeans,  it  had  been  celebrated  for  the  beauty  and  fertility  of  its  lands, 
and  for  the  rich  abundance  of  its  cereals,  the  crops  of  which  during  the  year  1780 
had  been  more  than  ordinarily  profuse. 

The  troops  designed  for  this  foray,  and  collected  at  La  Chine,  were  landed  at 
Oswego,  and  marched  across  the  country  to  the  Susquehanna.  They  consisted  of 
three  companies  of  Royal  Greens,  two  hundred  rangers,  a  company  of  yagers,  armed 
with  short  rifles,  and  the  effective  force  of  the  Mohawks.  They  were  joined  at 
Tioga  by  the  Senecas  under  Cornplanter.  The  whole  force  has  been  estimated  at 
from  eight  hundred  to  fifteen  hundred  men,  with  three  pieces  of  artillery ;  each  man 
was  supplied  with  eighty  rounds  of  ammunition.  Sir  John  commanded  the  regulars, 
and  Brant  the  Iroquois.  Their  appearance  in  the  Schoharie  Valley  was  heralded  by 
the  smoke  of  burning  dwellings,  barns,  and  hay-stacks,  and  by  the  wild  tumult  of 
savage  warfare.  Three  small  stockaded  forts  were  erected  in  the  valley,  which  were 
but  feebly  garrisoned,  and  ill  supplied  with  ammunition.  The  principal  attack  was 
made  on  the  central  fort,  but  the  resolution  of  its  garrison,  weak  though  it  was,  sup 
plied  the  place  of  military  skill.  A  flag  of  truce  sent  forward  by  the  enemy  with  a 
summons  to  surrender  was  fired  upon,  which  act  appeared  to  be  conclusive  evidence 
to  the  marauders  that  every  preparation  had  been  made  to  give  them  a  warm  recep 
tion.  The  enemy  ravaged  the  entire  valley  with  fire  and  sword.  Families  were 
murdered,  the  houses,  barns,  and  church  burned,  and  cattle  and  horses1  driven  off, 
while  the  air  resounded  with  the  war-whoops  of  the  savages.  Of  wheat  alone  eighty 
thousand  bushels  were  estimated  to  have  been  destroyed.  One  hundred  persons 
were  killed,  some  of  them  in  the  most  cruel  manner,  and  many  were  carried  into 
captivity.  The  enemy,  after  committing  all  the  devastation  possible,  sped  on  to  the 
Mohawk  Valley,  where  their  operations  embraced  a  still  wider  range.  On  reaching 
their  destination  the  forces  of  Sir  John  were  augmented  by  trained  parties  of  Loy 
alists  ;  and  the  march  through  the  valley  became  a  scene  of  rapine  and  plunder,  the 
forces  being  divided,  one  portion  taking  the  north  and  the  other  the  south  side  of  the 
river,  thus  leaving  no  part  of  the  doomed  section  unvisited,  or  free  from  the  ruthless 
inroads  of  the  Indians. 

While  the  Northern  Indians  were  thus  plundering  and  destroying  the  frontier 
settlements,  those  at  the  South  also  broke  out  into  open  hostility. 

Tory  emissaries  had  been  among  the  Cherokees,  one  of  the  most  active  and 
influential  of  whom  was  John  Stuart,  His  Majesty's  Indian  Agent  for  South  Caro 
lina.  When,  early  in  1776,  the  British  attacked  Charleston,  the  Overhill  Chero 
kees  began  a  series  of  massacres  upon  the  Western  frontier.  The  common  peril 
caused  a  general  rising  of  the  people  of  Eastern  Tennessee  and  Southwestern  Vir 
ginia  and  the  Carolinas.  The  Indians  received  a  check  on  July  20  at  Island  Flats, 

1  While  these  devastations  were  in  progress,  Lawrence  Schoolcraft,  a  young  minute-man  in  the  fort, 
having  a  fine  horse  in  a  neighboring  field,  went  out  to  look  after  him.  lie  observed  an  Indian,  mounted  on 
the  animal,  riding  towards  him.  Crouching  behind  a  clump  of  bushes,  he  fired  at  the  savage,  who  fell  from 
the  horse,  which  the  young  man  then  rode  back  to  the  fort  in  triumph. 


THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION.  279 

losing  forty  warriors.  Next  day  a  party  was  repulsed  from  Fort  Watauga  by  James 
Robertson  and  his  garrison.  Colonel  Christian,  with  the  Virginia  and  North  Caro 
lina  levies,  soon  recovered  the  upper  settlements  on  the  Tellico  and  the  Tennessee, 
and  the  Cherokees  sued  for  peace,  which  was  granted.  Towns  like  Tuskega,  where 
a  captive  had  lately  been  burned  alive,  were  reduced  to  ashes.  The  warriors  of  the 
lower  settlements  poured  down  upon  the  South  Carolina  frontier  on  July  1,  killing 
and  scalping  all  who  fell  into  their  power,  without  distinction  of  age  or  sex.  The 
terrified  inhabitants  fled  to  the  few  stockades  for  protection.  Colonel  Williamson, 
commanding  the  district  of  Ninety-Six,  with  about  five  hundred  men,  in  a  skirmish 
with  the  Indians  discovered  thirteen  white  men — Tories  disguised  as  savages — wield 
ing  the  tomahawk  and  scalping-knife.  This  was  the  beginning  of  the  fierce  hatred 
between  Whig  and  Tory  which  soon  produced  such  bitter  results  of  domestic  feud 
in  South  Carolina. 

While  marching  to  attack  a  force  of  Indians  and  Tories  at  Oconoree  Creek,  Wil 
liamson  fell  into  an  ambuscade.  His  men  were  thrown  into  disorder,  but  were  soon 
rallied  through  the  skill  and  coolness  of  Major  Hammond,  and  were  finally  victo 
rious.  Again  ambushed  by  his  wily  enemy  near  the  present  town  of  Franklin, 
Williamson  repulsed  the  foe  and  destroyed  the  towns  and  crops.  So  severe  was  the 
punishment  that  five  hundred  Cherokee  warriors  fled  to  Florida.  At  the  same  time 
General  Rutherford,  of  North  Carolina,  with  a  large-»fcrce,  crossed  the  Blue  Ridge 
at  Swannanoa  Gap  and  laid  waste  the  fertile  valley  of  the  Tennessee,  joining  Wil 
liamson  September  14.  The  Cherokees  were  compelled  to  submit  to  the  most  abject 
humiliation,  and  to  cede  to  South  Carolina  all  their  lands  beyond  the  mountains  of 
Uuacaya,  now  the  fertile  counties  of  Greenville,  Anderson,  and  Pickens,  watered  by 
the  tributaries  of  the  Savannah,  the  Saluda,  and  the  Ennoree. 

In  1781  the  Cherokees  again  became  restive,  and  made  incursions  into  South 
Carolina.  With  a  large  number  of  disguised  white  men,  they  fell  upon  Ninety-Six, 
spreading  desolation.  General  Andrew  Pickens,  at  the  head  of  four  hundred 
mounted  militia,  rapidly  penetrated  their  country  and  burned  thirteen  of  their  vil 
lages,  killing  a  large  number,  and  taking  nearly  seventy  prisoners.  Even  the  speed 
and  decision  of  Montgomery  were  excelled.  The  Indians  could  not  withstand  the 
terrible  onset  of  the  cavalry,  but  fled  in  consternation,  and  immediately  sued  for 
peace.  They  promised  never  to  listen  to  the  British  again,  and  for  a  long  time 
afterwards  they  remained  quiet 

The  years  1780  and  1781  were  characterized  by  these  inroads,  which  could  always 
be  traced  to  the  machinations  of  the  Tories,  whose  chief  object  was  to  make  the 
patriots  of  the  Revolution  suffer  not  only  all  the  evils  of  civilized  but  also  all  the 
horrors  of  savage  warfare.  But  the  Revolution  could  not  be  suppressed  by  acts  of 
savage  vengeance,  to  which  the  barbarian  allies  of  British  despotism  were  impelled 
by  the  Indian  prophet  at  his  midnight  orgies,  by  unwise  counsels  in  high  places,  or 
'  by  the  desire  of  winning  the  price  offered  for  deeds  of  blood  and  cruelty. 

Before  the  close  of  the  year  1780  it  became  evident  to  every  one  except  the 
Indians,  who  neither  understood  nor  studied  cause  and  effect,  that  the  chances  of 


280  WE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

ultimate  success  preponderated  in  favor  of  the  colonies;  and  after  the  surrender  of 
Corn  wallis  this  surmise  became  an  absolute  certainty.  To  every  one  but  this  infatu 
ated  race  it  was  apparent  that  the  struggle  had  been  maintained  at  the  cost  of  national 
exertions  which  even  the  British  crown  could  not  maintain,  and  the  words  of  Lord 
Chatham  were  regarded  in  England  as  but  little  less  than  the  words  of  inspiration. 

"While  the  negotiations  preliminary  to  the  formation  of  a  treaty  of  peace  were  in 
progress,  there  existed  a  state  of  Indian  excitement  on  the  frontiers  which  made  it 
the  duty  of  every  settler  to  deem  his  log  cabin  a  castle  and  constitute  his  wife  and 
children  the  custodians  of  an  armory.  The  Lowlands  of  Scotland  were  never  more 
completely  devastated  by  the  raids  of  their  fierce  neighbors  the  Celts,  than  were  the 
unfortunate  frontiers  of  Virginia  by  the  Indians.  These  details  are,  however,  the 
appropriate  theme  of  local  history :  our  attention  is  required  by  another  topic. 

The  Mohicans,  and  their  relatives  the  Delawares,  were  at  an  early  period  bene 
fited  by  the  bonevolent  labors  of  the  Moravian  Brethren.  Unfortunately,  as  we  have 
previously  mentioned,  this  excellent  society,  even  for  twenty  years  before  the  conquest 
of  Camilla,  had  held  the  reputation  of  being  politically  identified  with  the  French  ; 
and,  still  more  unfortunately  for  the  peace  of  the  Delawares,  this  preference  was 
alleged  to  have  been  transferred  to  the  British  crown  after  the  conquest  There  does 
not  appear  to  be  a  particle  of  reliable  evidence  of  either  the  former  or  the  latter 
preference;  but  the  populace  had  formed  this  opinion  while  the  Delawares  lived  east 
of  the  Alleghauies,  and  the  impression  became  still  stronger  after  they  migrated  to 
the  Ohio  Valley.  Although  these  Delaware  converts  resided  permanently  in  towns 
located  on  the  Muskingum,  they  were  peremptorily  ordered,  by  the  Indians  in  the 
British  interest,  encouraged  thereto  by  the  local  authorities,  to  abandon  their  habita 
tions  and  remove  to  Sandusky  and  Detroit,  under  the  evident  apprehension  that  these 
converts  would  imbibe  American  sentiments.  It  was  very  manifest  that  they  neither 
engaged  in  war  nor  were  ever  encouraged  thereto  by  their  teachers,  but  expressly  the 
contrary.  The  Munsees,  a  Delaware  tribe,  however,  took  refuge  on  the  river  Thames, 
in  Canada,  and  the  so-called  "  Christian  Indians,"  pure  Delawares,  of  the  Moravian 
persuasion,  did  the  same.  This  appears  to  have  been  the  result  of  political  necessity, 
and,  if  originally  at  the  solicitation  or  through  the  counsel  of  men  in  authority,  that 
motive  soon  ceased  to  have  much  effect.  In  17C5  the  "  Christian  Indians"  migrated 
through  the  Straits  of  Michilimackinac  to  rejoin  their  parental  tribe  in  the  West. 
Some  of  the  Munsees  had  previously  united  with  the  Stockbridges  at  Green  Bay,  in 
Wisconsin,  and  others  followed  them.  The  majority  of  the  Delawares  in  the  West 
were  enemies  to  the  Americans,  which  made  it  the  more  easy  to  convey  the  impres 
sion  that  the  Muskingum  Delawares  were  also  inimical. 

But,  however  the  question  of  political  preference  of  the  Moravian  Delawares  may 
be  decided,  it  is  certain  that  in  1782  the  common  opinion  among  the  people  of 
Western  Virginia  and  Pennsylvania  was  that  they  were  strongly  in  the  British 
interest.  Nothing  short  of  this  could  have  justified — if  anything  could  be  alleged, 
even  at  that  excited  period,  in  palliation  of  that  action — the  expedition  of  William 
son  against  the  Muskingum  towns.  It  was  to  no  purpose  that  the  hardy  forester  was 


THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION.  281 

told  that  these  Christian  Delawares  were  taught  and  professed  the  doctrine  of  non- 
resistance  and  peace  towards  all  men.  A  majority  of  the  frontiersmen  not  only  had 
no  faith  in  such  a  doctrine,  but  could  not  realize  the  fact  that  an  Indian,  whose 
natural  element  was  war,  whose  very  nature  was  subterfuge,  subtlety,  and  duplicity, 
could  subscribe  to  the  doctrines  of  peace  and  good-will  without  danger  of  relapsing 
into  his  original  condition  at  the  sight  of  blood  or  the  sound  of  a  rifle. 

It  happened  that  some  hostile  Indians  from  Sandusky  made  an  incursion  into 
the  settlements  on  the  Monongahela,  committing  a  series  of  shocking  murders. 
Infuriated  at  these  outrages,  a  body  of  one  hundred  or  two  hundred  men,  all  mounted 
and  equipped,  set  out  from  the  Monongahela,  under  command  of  Colonel  D.  Wil 
liamson,  in  quest  of  the  murderers.  They  directed  their  march  to  the  settlements  of 
Salem  and  Gnadenhiitten,  on  the  Muskingum.  The  vicinity  of  the  latter  place  was 
reached  after  two  days'  march,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  following  day  the  party 
divided  into  three  sections,  entering  the  town  simultaneously  at  different  points. 
They  found  the  Indians  lalx>ring  peaceably  and  unsuspiciously  in  the  fields,  gathering 
up  their  bundles  preparatory  to  their  return  to  Sandusky.  A  message  from  the 
commander  at  Pittsburg  had  apprised  them  of  the  march  of  Williamson's  force 
and  warned  them  to  be  on  their  guard,  but,  conscious  of  their  innocence,  no  alarm 
had  been  excited  by  this  intelligence.  Williamson  approached  the  settlement  with 
friendly  professions,  proposed  to  the  Indians  a  plan  of  deliverance  from  their  oppres 
sors  the  Wyandots  of  Sandusky,  and  induced  them  to  deliver  up  their  arms,  axes, 
and  working  implements,  as  well  as  to  collect  at  a  place  of  rendezvous,  preparatory 
to  a  proposed  march  to  Pittsburg.  At  this  rendezvous  they  found  themselves  com 
pletely  in  the  power  of  their  enemies,  who  began  to  treat  them  roughly  ;  but  neither 
resistance  nor  flight  was  now  possible.  They  were  next  accused  of  horse-stealing 
and  other  acts  of  which  they  were  entirely  guiltless.  It  was  then  determined  in  a 
council  composed  of  Williamson's  followers  to  decide  their  fate.  He  paraded  his  men 
in  line,  and  then  put  the  question,  whether  they  should  be  sent  to  Pittsburg  or  shot, 
requesting  those  who  were  in  favor  of  their  removal  to  step  in  front.  The  majority 
condemned  them  to  death ;  sixteen  or  eighteen  were  in  favor  of  mercy.  The  Dela 
wares,  whose  fate  had  thus  been  summarily  decided,  knelt  down,  prayed,  and  sung 
a  hymn,  whilst  a  consultation  was  being  held  as  to  the  mode  of  putting  them  to 
death.  Not  an  imploring  word  was  uttered,  not  a  tear  shed.  They  submitted  silently 
to  their  fate,  and  were  successively  struck  down  with  a  mallet  Ninety-six  unarmed 
Indians  were  thus  slain.  Sixty-two  of  the  number  were  adults,  one  of  them  a 
woman,  and  the  remaining  thirty-four  children.  The  demoniacal  troop  then  returned 
to  their  homes,  giving  plausible  but  false  reasons  for  the  atrocities  committed,  which  • 
were  published  in  the  newspapers. 


u— 36 


CHAPTER   VL 

BORDER  WARS  OF  KENTUCKY— BOONESBOROUGH  ATTACKED— BOWMAN'S  EX 
PEDITION— ESTILL'S  DEFEAT— BATTLE  OF  THE  BLUE  LICKS— THE  CREEKS 
ATTACK  GENERAL  WAYNE. 

Ow  the  1st  day  of  April,  1775,  the  stockade  fort  of  Boonesborough,  on  the  west 
bank  of  the  Kentucky  River,  near  the  mouth  of  Otter  Creek,  was  begun.  In  1774, 
James  Harrod,  a  resolute  backwoodsman,  and  a  skilful  hunter,  had  led  a  party  of 
forty-one  to  Harrodsburg,  and .  during  the  summer  built  there  the  first  log  cabin  in 
Kentucky.  Seventeen  delegates  from  the  four  settlements — Boonesborough,  Har 
rodsburg,  Boiling  Springs,  and  St.  Asaph's — met  together  at  the  first-named  place, 
and  formed  the  colony  of  Transylvania,  now  the  Commonwealth  of  Kentucky,  on 
the  23d  of  May,  1775,  a  treaty  having  been  made  the  previous  winter  with  the 
Cherokees  for  the  land  between  the  Ohio,  the  Cumberland  Mountains,  and  the  Cum 
berland  and  Kentucky  Rivers.  Before  this  time  it  was  the  common  Indian  hunting- 
ground,  lying  between  the  Cherokees,  Creeks,  and  Catawbas  of  the  South  and  the 
Shawnees,  Delawares,  and  Wyandots  of  the  North,  and  it  was  also  the  scene  of 
occasional  bloody  encounters  between  these  warlike  and  hostile  tribes.  No  perma 
nent  settlement  existed  within  its  borders  when  first  occupied  by  the  white  men,  but 
reports  of  the  inexhaustible  fertility  of  its  soil  had  reached  Virginia  and  North 
Carolina,  and  very  soon  parties  of  emigrants  were  on  their  way  thither. 

No  name  is  better  known  in  the  pioneer  annals  of  America  than  that  of  Daniel 
Boone.  As  a  hunter  and  surveyor  he  had  more  than  once  explored  "  the  dark  and 
bloody  ground,"  as  Kentucky  afterwards  came  to  be  called,  and  had  passed  entire 
seasons  alone  in  its  solitary  recesses.  At  this  period  he  was  in  the  prime  of  life, 
having  attained  the  age  of  forty,  and  his  fame  as  a  hunter  and  explorer,  as  well  as 
his  reputation  for  sagacity,  judgment,  and  intrepidity,  was  unsurpassed.  Boone  was 
five  feet  ten  inches  in  height,  robust  and  athletic,  fitted  by  habit  and  temperament  for 
endurance,  his  bright  eye  and  calm  determination  of  manner  inspiring  confidence, 
while  such  was  the  kindliness  of  his  nature  that  he  is  said  never  to  have  wronged  a 
human  being,  not  even  an  Indian. 

The  fort  at  Boonesborough  was  the  special  object  of  Indian  hatred.  It  was  the 
first  fortification  built  in  that  region,  and  it  at  once  excited  their  jealous  fears.  The 
settlement  was  incessantly  harassed  by  flying  parties  of  Indians,  who  waylaid  and 
shot  at  the  men  working  in  the  fields  or  while  hunting.  Few  ventured  beyond  the 
protection  of  the  fort.  In  December,  1775,  a  party  of  Indians  assailed  it,  but  were 

repulsed.     On  the  7th  of  July  following,  one  of  Boone's  little  daughters  and  two 

282 


THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION.  283 

other  girls  who  were  amusing  themselves  near  the  fort,  were  seized  and  carried  away 
by  the  Indians,  but  were  speedily  rescued  by  Boone  and  his  companions. 

An  attack  made  on  April  15,  1777,  was  easily  repulsed.  Another  and  fiercer 
assault  by  two  hundred  Indians  was  made  July  4,  with  a  similar  result.  Logan's 
Fort,  built  early  in  1776  near  the  present  town  of  Stanford,  and  Harrodsburg,  were 
at  the  same  time  attacked. 

February  7,  1778,  Boone,  with  twenty-seven  men,  was  captured  while  making 
salt,  and  taken  to  Detroit,  where  the  British  commander,  Colonel  Hamilton,  vainly 
offered  his  captors  a  ransom  of  one  hundred  pounds  sterling.  He  was  then  taken  to 
Chillicothe,  and  adopted  into  the  tribe,  and  soon  succeeded  in  thoroughly  ingratiating 
himself  •  with  the  Indians.  Learning  that  an  expedition  was  preparing  against 
Boonesborough,  he  made  his  escape,  travelled  one  hundred  and  sixty  miles  in  less 
than  five  days,  and  appeared  before  the  garrison  at  Boonesborough  like  one  risen 
from  the  dead.  The  fort  was  at  once  repaired  and  strengthened,  and  in  ten  days 
was  ready  for  a  siege.  Distant  settlements  were  abandoned,  and  the  forts  were  put 
in  fighting  order ;  but  the  escape  of  Boone  disconcerted  the  Indians,  and  delayed 
their  enterprise  for  several  weeks. 

On  the  8th  of  August  five  hundred  Indians  and  Canadians,  under  Captain  Du- 
quesne  and  the  Indian  chief  Blackfish, — the  most  formidable  expedition  of  the  war, 
— appeared  before  the  fort,  then  garrisoned  by  sixty-five  men.  Harrod's  and  Logan's 
forts,  menaced  at  the  same  time  by  strong  detachments,  could  afford  them  no  assist 
ance.  Summoned  to  surrender,  a  truce  of  two  days  was  granted  the  garrison  by 
Duquesne  in  which  to  consider  the  matter.  The  time  thus  gained  was  well  employed 
in  collecting  the  horses  and  cattle  within  the  fort.  At  its  expiration,  Boone  returned 
this  answer :  "  We  are  determined  to  defend  our  fort  while  a  man  is  living.  We 
laugh  at  your  formidable  preparations,  but  thank  you  for  giving  us  notice,  and  time 
to  provide  for  our  defence."  Duquesne  next  proposed  to  the  garrison  to  send  out 
nine  chosen  men  to  make  a  treaty.  This  was  agreed  to,  and  a  conference  was  held 
sixty  yards  in  front  of  the  fort.  At  its  close,  Boone  and  each  of  his  eight  com 
panions,  under  the  pretext  of  a  friendly  handshaking,  were  grasped  by  two  or  three 
stalwart  Indians.  But  they  had  mistaken  their  men,  and  were  easily  shaken  off  by 
the  sturdy  backwoodsmen,  who  succeeded  in  regaining  the  fort  under  the  protecting 
rifles  of  the  garrison,  who  had  from  the  first  suspected  treachery  on  the  part  of  the 
Indians.  For  nine  days  and  nights  the  savages  persevered  in  their  attack,  employing 
all  means  known  to  them  to  effect  its  capture,  setting  it  on  fire,  and  even  attempting 
to  undermine  it  One  hundred  and  twenty-five  pounds  of  bullets  were  picked  up 
around  the  fort  after  their  departure,  besides  what  stuck  in  the  logs  of  the  fort, — 
"  certainly  a  great  proof  of  their  industry,"  as  Boone  himself  says.  This  memorable 
siege  was  the  last  sustained  by  Boonesborough,  and  it  saved  the  Kentucky  frontier 
from  depopulation.  The  enemy  decamped  on  the  tenth  day,  having  lost  thirty  men 
killed,  and  a  much  larger  number  wounded.  The  garrison  had  two  killed  and  four 
wounded.  The  capture  of  the  British  forts  at  Kaskaskia  and  Vincennes  soon  fol 
lowed.  This  blow,  striking  at  the  root  of  the  evil,  cut  off  the  supplies  of  arms  and 


284  "WE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

ammunition  ..constantly  being  furnished  the  Indians,  and  checked  their  annual 
predatory  incursions. ^ 

In  1779,  Colonel  Bowman  led  an  expedition  consisting  of  the  flower  of  Kentucky 
against  Chillicothe.  Colonel  Benjamin  Logan  was  second  in  command,  and  Harrod, 
Bulger,  Bedinger,  and  other  brave  officers  held  subordinate  positions.  The  surprise 
was  complete,  and  the  plan  of  attack  well  concerted.  Logan's  division,  taking  the 
position  assigned  to  it,  awaited  the  signal  for  attack,  which  was  to  proceed  from 
Bowman.  Hour  after  hour  passed,  and  the  opportunity  for  a  decisive  victory,  that 
would  have  spread  consternation  throughout  the  Indian  tribes  and  repressed  their 
incursions  for  a  long  time,  was  lost  through  the  imbecility  or  fears  of  the  commander- 
in-chief.  Logan's  division,  left  unsupported  by  Bowman,  at  length  retreated  in  dis 
order,  and  the  rout  quickly  became  general.  Some  of  the  subordinate  officers,  with 
daring  bravery,  charged  the  enemy  on  horseback,  and  covered  the  retreat,  but  the 
failure  was  as  complete  as  it  was  unexpected  and  disgraceful. 

A  formidable  expedition,  consisting  of  English  and  Indians,  under  Colonel  Bird, 
was  organized  in  1780.  Cannon  were  employed  for  the  first  time  in  Kentucky,  and 
Ruddle's  and  Martin's  Stations  were  destroyed,  and  their  garrisons  taken.  This 
was  retaliated  by  Colonel  Clarke,  who,  in  the  autumn  of  that  year,  invaded  the 
Indian  country  in  Ohio,  defeated  the  Shawnees  in  a  pitched  battle  at  Pickaway,  laid 
waste  their  villages,  and  destroyed  their  corn-fields  with  ruthless  severity. 

Indian  hostility  was  unusually  active  in  Kentucky  in  1782.  A  party  of  Wyan- 
dots  committed  shocking  depredations  near  Estill's  Station  in  May  of  that  year. 
Captain  Estill,  with  an  equal  force,  pursued  and  overtook  them  at  Hinckstone's  Fork 
of  Licking,  near  Mount  Stirling,  and  here  occurred  one  of  the  best-fought  battles  of 
the  war.  The  creek  ran  between  the  two  parties,  who,  behind  trees  and  logs,  main 
tained  for  hours  a  close  and  deadly  conflict.  One-third  of  the  combatants  had 
fallen,  when  Lieutenant  Miller,  with  a  few  men,  undertook,  by  making  a  devour,  to 
gain  the  enemy's  flank  and  close  the  battle.  The  Indian  leader,  perceiving  the 
movement,  with  the  rapid  decision  that  marks  the  great  commander,  and  wholly 
contrary  to  the  usual  Indian  tactics,  crossed  the  creek  in  his  front,  and  throwing  his 
whole  force  upon  Estill,  now  weakened  by  the  absence  of  Miller,  overpowered  him 
and  forced  him  from  the  ground.  He  and  n-jarly  all  his  men  were  killed,  and  it  was 
poor  consolation  that  an  equal  loss  had  been  inflicted  on  the  enemy.  This  bloody 
little  fight,  memorable  for  the  military  skill  of  the  Indian  commander,  created  a 
sensation  at  the  time  far  beyond  its  real  importance,  and  was  followed  by  stunning 
blows  from  the  same  quarter  in  rapid  succession. 

The  disastrous  battle  of  the  Blue  Licks,  which  occurred  August  19,  1782,  spread 
mourning  throughout  the  Kentucky  border.  A  large  force  of  Indians  and  a  few 
Canadians,  having  been  repulsed  from  Bryant's  Station,  were  pursued  across  the 
Licking  River  by  one  hundred  and  sixty  Kentuckians,  under  Colonels  Todd,  Trigg, 
and  Boune,  the  latter  of  whom  advised  waiting  for  Colonel  Logan,  then  on  his  way 
to  join  them.  Had  the  advice  been  taken,  the  result  would  have  been  very  different 
The  enemy  was  before  them,  and  a  rapid  retreat  or  a  battle  against  fearful  odds  was 


THE  AMERICAN  REVOLUTION.  285 

inevitable.  Further  deliberation  was  ended  by  Major  McGary,  who  spurred  his 
horse  into  the  stream,  waved  his  hat  over  his  head,  and  shouted,  "  Let  all  who  are 
not  cowards  follow  me  I"  Dashing  into  the  deep  ford,  the  gallant  band  crossed  the 
stream  and  pressed  forward  to  close  with  the  concealed  enemy.  Suddenly  a  withering 
and  murderous  fire  was  poured  upon  them  by  the  unseen  foe,  by  which  the  right 
wing  was  broken,  the  enemy  rushing  up  and  gaining  their  rear,  and  in  spite  of  the 
heroism  of  the  survivors  they  were  overpowered  and  compelled  to  seek  safety  in 
flight.  The  river  was  difficult  to  cross ;  many  were  killed  just  entering  it,  some  in 
the  water,  others  after  crossing  and  while  ascending  the  cliffs.  Some  escaped  on 
horseback,  a  few  on  foot.  Seventy-seven  were  killed,  among  them  Colonels  Todd 
and  Trigg  and  Major  Harlan,  and  a  few  wounded.  Some  of  the  fugitives  reached 
Bryant's  Station  the  night  after  the  battle,  and  were  there  met  by  Colonel  Logan  at 
the  head  of  four  hundred  and  fifty  men.  This  terrible  blow,  the  last  that  was  struck 
by  the  Indians  for  the  recovery  of  their  Kentucky  hunting-grounds,  only  brought 
sure  and  speedy  retribution  upon  their  heads.  General  Clarke's  expedition,  in  Sep 
tember,  1782,  was  exterminating  in  its  character;  the  Chillicothe  towns  on  theScioto 
were  destroyed,  their  plantations  were  laid  waste,  and  peace  was  secured  to  Kentucky, 
no  formidable  war-party  ever  afterwards  invading  it. 

The  last  blow  which  the  Indians  inflicted  upon  the  regular  troops  of  the  colonies 
was  dealt  by  the  Creeks  of  Georgia.  As  the  contest  was  drawing  to  its  close, 
the  troops  of  both  parties  moved  towards  the  South.  During  the  occupation  of 
Savannah,  General  Wayne  was  encamped  with  an  army  about  five  miles  from  that 
city,  engaged  in  watching  the  motions  of  the  enemy.  Guristersigo,  a  distinguished 
Creek  leader  of  Western  Georgia,  projected  a  secret  expedition  against  the  resolute 
hero  of  Stony  Point,  who  anticipated  no  danger  from  an  Indian  foe  distant  from 
him  nearly  the  entire  breadth  of  Georgia.  The  Indian  chief,  undiscovered,  reached 
a  point  near  the  object  of  attack  before  daybreak  on  the  24th  of  June,  with  three 
hundred  warriors. 

Wayne,  who  was  a  cautious  and  watchful  officer,  had  been  on  the  alert  against 
the  enemy  from  Savannah,  whence  he  expected  an  attack ;  and  his  men,  who  had 
been  harassed  by  severe  duty,  slept  on  their  arms  on  the  night  of  the  23d,  so  as  to 
be  ready  for  action.  They  were  suddenly  aroused  at  midnight  by  the  war-whoop, 
and  the  warriors  of  Guristersigo  attacked  them  with  such  fury  and  in  such  numbers 
that  the  troops  seemed  to  be  unable  to  withstand  their  onset.  They  intended  to  fall 
upon  the  American  pickets,  but  ignorantly  attacked  the  main  body.  The  infantry 
at  once  seized  their  arms,  and  the  artillery  hastened  to  their  guns.  General  Wayne 
and  Colonel  Posey,  who  had  lain  down  in  the  general's  tent,  instantly  arose,  and 
proceeded  to  the  scene,  the  latter  leading  his  regiment  of  infantry  to  the  charge, 
thereby  restoring  confidence  and  order  in  the  line.  At  that  moment  Wayne's  horse 
was  shot  dead  under  him,  and  he  saw  his  cannon  seized  by  the  savages.  They  were 
soon  recaptured,  and  a  fierce  hand-to-hand  struggle  ensued,  in  which  the  tomahawk 
and  rifle  proved  no  match  for  the  bayonet  General  Wayne  at  the  same  time  charged 
at  the  head  of  the  cavalry,  who  cut  down  the  naked  warriors  with  their  broadswords, 


286 


THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


and  by  turning  their  flank  put  them  to  flight  The  Creeks  fought  with  desperation, 
and  none  with  greater  courage  than  Guristereigo,  who,  by  his  voice  and  example, 
gave  animation  to  his  men,  seventeen  of  whom  fell  around  him.  He  continued  to 
fight  with  heroic  desperation,  until  he  finally  fell,  pierced  with  two  bayonet-wounds 
and  one  from  the  thrust  of  a  spontoon.  Upon  his  fall  the  Indians  fled,  and  were 
pursued  far  into  the  forest,  many  being  killed  with  the  bayonet  Wayne's  loss  was 
slight  In  September  Colonels  Pickens  and  Clarke  completed  their  subjugation. 
Weary  of  the  conflict,  the  Indians  ceded  all  their  lands  south  of  the  Savannah 
and  east  of  the  Chattahoochee  to  the  State  of  Georgia  as  the  price  of  peace. 


PERIOD   VI. 


POST-BEVOLUTIONABY, 


CHAPTER   I. 

INDIAN  POLICY  OP  THE  UNITED  STATES— TREATIES  WITH  THE  TRIBES. 

A  DEFINITIVE  treaty  of  peace  was  signed  at  Versailles  January  14,  1783.  As 
the  Indians  had  fought  for  no  national  object,  they  received  no  consideration  in  this 
instrument  It  contained  no  provision  for  their  welfare, — a  fact  of  which  they  had 
been  forewarned  by  the  Americans, — as  it  would  have  contravened  the  policy  of 
Europe  to  recognize  the  national  character  of  a  people  whom  they  had  so  long  re 
garded  as  mere  savages.  The  Americans,  who  succeeded  to  their  guardianship, 
treated  them  as  quasi  nationalities,  devoid  of  sovereignty,  but  having  an  absolute 
possessory  right  to  the  soil  and  to  ita  usufruct,  with  power  to  cede  this  right,  to  make 
peace,  and  to  regulate  the  boundaries  to  their  lands,  by  which  the  aboriginal  hunting- 
grounds  were  so  defined  that  they  could  readily  be  distinguished  from  the  districts 
ceded.  Thus  was  at  once  laid  the  foundation  of  that  long  list  of  Indian  treaties 
which  record  our  later  Indian  history  and  accurately  mark  the  progress  of  our 
settlements  between  the  Atlantic  and  the  Pacific.  Under  this  policy  commenced 
that  system  of  annuities  by  which,  as  their  exhausted  hunting-grounds  were  ceded, 
they  were  supplied  with  the  means  of  subsistence, — a  system  designed  to  promote 
their  gradual  advance  in  agriculture  and  arts,  as  well  as  their  improvement  in 
manners,  morals,  education,  and  civilization. 

The  proper  management  of  Indian  affairs  had  been  an  object  of  deep  and  con 
stant  concern  to  Congress,  and  North  and  South  the  duty  was  for  many  years 
intrusted  to  a  board  of  commissioners  composed  of  men  of  the  highest  experience, 
judgment,  and  wisdom.  Nor  were  the  means  of  the  provisional  government  lightly 
taxed  for  the  accomplishment  of  this  object.  By  reference  to  the  records  of  the 
Treasury  Department  during  this  time  we  have  ascertained  that  between  the  period 
of  the  Declaration  of  Independence  and  the  4th  of  March,  1789,  embracing  the  era 
of  the  Revolution,  the  sum  of  $580,103.41  was  disbursed  on  account  of  the  expenses 
of  treaties  with,  and  of  presents  to,  the  Indian  tribes,  and  this  was  done  while,  daring 
part  of  the  time,  the  army  had  neither  shoes  nor  clothing.  There  was  then  no  means 
of  obtaining  an  accurate  account  of  their  numbers,  but  an  estimate  prepared  by  Mr. 

287 


288  fHE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Madison  rates  their  total  force  during  the  contest  at  twelve  thousand  four  hundred 
and  thirty  fighting-men,  a  very  large  part  of  whom  were  under  British  influence. 
This  estimate  may,  as  the  author  says,  have  been  above  the  truth,  but  it  was  far 
more  reliable  than  the  exaggerated  enumeration  published  only  ten  or  eleven  years 
previous  by  Colonel  Bouquet,  who  reported  the  number  of  warriors  at  fifty-six 
thousand  five  hundred. 

The  question  as  to  the  policy  to  be  pursued  with  tribes  who  contemned  all  the 
maxims  and  principles  of  civilized  life  was  one  presenting  many  difficulties.  History 
had  demonstrated  the  instability,  cruelty,  and  treachery  of  their  character.  Ever 
subject  to  be  influenced  by  those  whose  interest  it  was  to  mislead  them,  inclined  to 
mistake  their  rights  and  true  position,  and  to  be  turned  aside  from  the  pursuit  of 
noble  and  permanent  objects  to  those  that  were  temporary  and  illusive,  civilization 
itself  appeared  to  them  as  one  of  the  most  intolerable  of  evils,  and  they  were  as  much 
opi>osed  to  the  labors  of  the  plough  and  the  loom  as  they  were  to  the  science  of  letters 
and  the  doctrines  of  Christianity. 

Although  the  task  of  reclamation  was  difficult,  it  was  neither  hopeless  nor  dis 
couraging,  and,  whether  pleasant  or  otherwise,  it  became  one  of  the  earliest  subjects 
for  the  exercise  of  governmental  powers.  To  acknowledge  sovereignty  of  the  Indians 
in  the  vast  territories  over  which  they  roamed  would  have  been  simply  ridiculous, 
but  the  recognition  of  their  right  to  the  soil  replaced  in  their  hands  the  means  of 
advancing  to  prosperity  and  happiness.  As  this  would  be  a  gradual  process,  supply 
ing  from  decade  to  decade  the  loss  suffered  from  the  depreciation  in  value  of  their 
hunting-grounds,  by  the  resources  arising  from  their  voluntary  cession,  the  system 
seemed  well  suited  to  their  wants,  and  well  adapted  to  secure  permanent  peace  on  the 
frontiers.  The  only  real  difficulty  encountered  was  in  the  adjustment  of  its  details, 
and  this  difficulty  was  complicated  by  the  removals  of  the  tribes,  by  infelicity  of 
situation  owing  to  advancing  settlements,  and  by  the  temptations  to  indulgence  in 
idleness,  dissipation,  and  savage  customs.  Frequently  the  very  accumulation  of  their 
annuities  became  the  means  of  their  depression,  and  of  accumulated  perplexities.  It 
will  be  seen  by  scanning  the  statistics  of  the  tribes  in  the  West  that  the  members  of 
many  of  those  tribes  which  possessed  the  largest  funds  in  government  securities,  and 
particularly  of  those  small  tribes  which  received  per  capita  the  largest  annuities  in 
coin,  were  the  most  idle,  intemperate,  and  demoralized. 

The  treaty  of  Versailles  having  ignored  the  national  existence  of  the  Indians, 
they  were  compelled  to  negotiate  directly  with  the  Republic.  The  Iroquois,  or  Six 
Nations,  who  had  been  the  most  determined  enemies  of  the  Americans,  made  the 
first  treaty  in  which  the  question  of  territory  was  mooted,  which  was  concluded  and 
signed  at  Fort  Stanwix  October  22,  1784,  in  presence  of  the  commissioners,  Oliver 
Wolcott,  Richard  Butler,  and  Arthur  Lee.  By  the  terms  of  this  instrument  they 
ceded  a  strip  of  land  beginning  at  the  mouth  of  Oyonwaye  Creek,  on  Lake  Ontario, 
four  miles  south  of  the  Niagara  portage  path,  and  running  southerly  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Tehosaroro  or  Buffalo  Creek,  thence  to  the  Pennsylvania  line,  and  along  its 
north  and  south  boundary  to  the  Ohio  River.  They  relinquished  any  claim  by  right 


POST-REVOLUTIONARY.  289 

of  conquest  to  the  Indian  country  west  of  that  boundary.  Their  right  of  property 
in  the  territory  situate  in  the  State  of  New  York  eastward  of  the  Oyonwaye  line, 
embracing  the  fertile  region  of  Western  New  York,  remained  unaffected,  and  the 
territory  of  the  Oneidas  was  guaranteed  to  them.  By  this  treaty  the  tribes  who  had 
fought  against  the  colonies  covenanted  to  deliver  up  all  prisoners,  white  and  black, 
taken  during  the  war,  and  as  a  guarantee  that  this  should  be  done  six  chiefs  were  held 
as  hostages.  This  treaty  was  finally  confirmed  by  all  the  Iroquois  sachems  in  a 
council  held  by  General  St.  Clair  at  Fort  Harmar,  on  the  Ohio,  January  9,  1789. 

New  York  had  been  the  principal  arena  of  the  Iroquois  development.  Accord 
ing  to  the  earliest  traditions,  they  originally  entered  it  by  way  of  the  Oswego  River, 
and  assumed  separate  names  and  tribal  distinctions  after  their  geographical  disper 
sion  over  it.  Their  confederation,  under  the  title  of  Aquinoshioni,  is  by  far  the 
most  interesting  example  of  political  development  among  the  North  American  tribes. 

The  Revolutionary  War,  having  in  effect  dissolved  the  confederation,  left  the 
sovereignty  of  the  individual  States  intact,  and  therefore  to  New  York  alone  could 
cessions  of  territory  be  rightfully  made.  These  cessions  began  shortly  after  the 
negotiation  of  the  initial  national  treaty  at  Fort  Stanwix  in  1784.  On  the  28th  of 
June,  1785,  at  a  convocation  of  the  chiefs  and  sachems  held  at  Herkimer,  the  Oneidas 
and  Tuscaroras,  in  consideration  of  the  payment  in  hand  of  a  sum  of  money  and 
goods,  ceded  a  tract  of  land  on  the  New  York  side  of  the  Susquehanna  River, 
including  Unadilla. 

At  a  council  held  with  the  Onondaga  sachems  by  George  Clinton,  Esq.,  and  his 
associate  commissioners,  September  12,  1788,  the  Onondaga  tribe  ceded  all  their 
lands  within  the  State,  making  such  reservations  as  covered  their  castle  and  resi 
dences.  By  a  separate  article  of  this  treaty  they  ceded  to  the  State  the  salt  spring 
tract.  Large  payments  were  made  in  coin  and  goods,  and  a  perpetual  annuity  of 
five  hundred  dollars  in  silver  was  granted. 

By  the  terms  of  a  treaty  concluded  with  the  Oneida  sachems  at  Fort  Stanwix, 
before  the  same  commissioner,  September  22,  1788,  the  Oneidas  ceded  all  their  lands 
within  the  State,  with  the  exception  of  ample  reservations  for  their  own  use,  and  the 
right  to  lease  part  of  the  same.  Five  thousand  dollars  in  money,  goods,  and  pro 
visions  were  then  paid  to  them,  and  a  perpetual  annuity  of  six  hundred  dollars 
was  granted. 

This  treaty  with  the  Oneidas  contained  an  important  provision  sanctioning  the 
arrangements  previously  made  by  them  in  behalf  of  the  expatriated  Indians  of  New 
England,  and  others  of  the  Algonkin  group,  who  had  been  allowed  to  settle  on  their 
^  lands.  The  title  to  a  tract  of  land  two  miles  in  breadth  and  three  in  length  in  the 
Oriskany  Valley  was  confirmed  to  the  tribes  that  assumed  the  name  of  Brother- 
tons  and  were  under  the  care  of  Rev.  Samson  Occum.  Another  tract,  six  miles 
square,  located  in  the  Oneida  Creek  Valley,  was  confirmed  to  the  Mohicans  of  the 
Housatonic,  bearing  the  name  of  Stockbridges,  who  were  under  the  charge  of  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Sergeant 

On  the  25th  of  February,  1789,  the  Cayuga  sachems  assembled  at  Albany,  and 

ii— 37 


290  ri*E  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

ceded  all  their  lands  within  the  State,  with  the  exception  of  one  hundred  square 
miles,  exclusive  of  the  area  of  Cayuga  Lake,  a  reserve  of  a  fishing  site  at  Scayes,  and 
one  mile  square  at  Cayuga  Ferry.  One  mile  square  was  granted  to  the  Cayuga 
chief  Oojaugenta,  or  Fish-Carrier.  Two  limited  annuities,  amounting  to  five  hundred 
dollars  and  six  hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars  respectively,  and  a  permanent 
annuity  of  five  hundred  dollars,  were  granted  by  the  State. 

•  These  agreements  to  pay  the  tribes  in  coin,  goods,  and  provisions  were  scrupu 
lously  complied  with,  and  have  been  continued  to  the  present  day,  every  attention 
and  respect  having  been  manifested  by  New  York  for  the  habits  and  wants  of  the 
•Indians,  who  have  likewise  received  special  gratuities.  These  transactions  consti 
tuted  the  first  practical  lesson  in  civil  polity  and  the  details  of  public  business  which 
•the  Iroquois  received.  The  respect  paid  to  their  sachems,  the  care  and  accuracy 
with  which  the  titles  of  the  respective  tribes  to  their  lands  were  inquired  into,  and 
the  good  faith  with  which  the  State  at  all  times  fulfilled  its  engagement,  rendering 
and  requiring  even-handed  justice,  formed  an  example  which  was  not  lost  on  a  people 
celebrated  from  early  days  for  their  political  position  and  influence.  Civilized  life 
was  regarded  by  them  with  greater  respect  than  heretofore,  and  a  newly-felt  influence 
caused  them  to  act  with  a  stricter  sense  of  responsibility  than  they  had  done  in  past 
times. 

Hitherto  their  chiefs  and  sachems  had,  as  independent  representatives  of  free  and 
proud  tribes,  visited  the  districts  of  Eastern  and  Southern  New  York,  either  for 
•political  or  commercial  purposes,  without  paying  much  regard  to  a  state  of  society 
"which  did  not  suit  their  preconceived  ideas.  But  from  this  period  the  aspect  of 
things  changed.  They  resided  exclusively  on  small  reservations,  which  were  soon 
surrounded  by  farmers,  merchants,  manufacturers,  mechanics,  and  professional  men, 
who  presented  to  them  daily  and  hourly  an  example  of  the  beneficial  effects  of  thrift, 
and  demonstrated  that  only  the  idle  and  vicious  lagged  behind  in  the  general  race  to 
the  goal  of  prosperity.  Private  rights  were  strictly  protected,  and  those  over  whom 
the  cegis  of  the  law  was  extended  were  taxed  for  its  support.  The  debtor  had  his 
choice  either  to  meet  his  obligations  or  be  placed  in  durance  until  his  creditor  was 
•satisfied.  There  was  but  one  rule  and  one  law  for  all.  Little  attention  was  given  to 
the  Indians.  Wise  in  their  own  conceit,  regarding  proficiency  and  excellence  in  the 
arts  of  war  and  hunting  as  the  limit  of  all  attainments,  they  hated  education,  deemed 
voluntary  labor  equivalent  to  slavery,  and  despised  morality,  as  well  as  the  teachings 
of  the  gospel.  If  such  a  people  rapidly  disappeared,  the  magistrates  felt  little  or  no 
sympathy  for  their  fate ;  the  merchants  merely  sold  them  what  they  could  pay  for, 
and  the  majority  of  the  citizens,  who  remembered  their  cruel  and  treacherous  con 
duct  during  the  Revolution,  were  glad  to  see  them  pass  away  and  give  place  to  a 
superior  race. 

The  public  functionaries  of  the  State  government,  however,  regarded  their  con 
dition  from  a  higher  point  of  view.  They  were  deemed  an  unfortunate  yet  not 
criminal  people,  who  hadjbeen  misled,  but  who  could  not  be  condemned  for  lacking 
political  or  moral  wisdom.  Their  title  to  the  territories  was  undisputed,  and  was 


-f. 


',  ;".••.-. .1.      •    '-...    "  •'• 


-J  A  D 


f  nil  v    ii;     r--        .' 


POST-REVOLUTIONARY.  291 

freely  acknowledged  and  respected  by  all.  Another  aspect  of  the  position  of  the 
Iroquois  after  the  Revolution  might  likewise  be  presented.  That  contest  had  pro 
duced  a  disastrous  effect  on  them,  having  hy  means  of  its  continual  alarms  and 
excitements  diverted  their  attention  for  an  extended  period  from  their  usual  pursuits. 
They  had  so  long  waylaid  the  farmer  at  his  plough,  and  the  planter  in  his  field,  that 
their  corn-fields  were  in  retaliation  devastated,  their  orchards  felled  to  the  ground, 
their  villages  burned,  and  themselves  often  reduced  to  extreme  poverty  and  destitu 
tion.  The  State  authorities,  however,  interfered  in  their  behalf,  and  under  the  treaties 
just  mentioned  rescued  them  from  want  by  the  payment  to  them  of  annuities  in 
money  and  goods. 

The  General  Government  also  took  this  view,  and  a  commissioner  of  high  stand 
ing1  was  appointed  to  meet  the  tribes  during  the  autumn  of  1794  at  Canandaigua,  in 
Western  New  York.  This  convocation  was  numerously  attended  by  all  the  tribes 
who  had  been  actors  in  the  war  (except  the  Mohawks),  including  the  Stockbridges. 
The  noted  Oneida  chief  Skenandoah  attended,  with  a  delegation  of  his  people.  The 
war  chief  Little  Beard,  or  Sequidongquee,  marked  for  his  cruelties  during  Sullivan's 
campaign,  represented  the  Genesee  Senecas.8  The  celebrated  orator  Sagoyewatha,  or 
Red  Jacket,  first  distinguished  himself  at  this  council.  Honayawus,  or  Farmer's 
Brother,  represented  the  central  Niagara  Indians,  and  Kiantwauka,  or  the  Corn- 
planter,  those  of  the  upper  Alleghany.  The  Tuscaroras  sent  the  Indian  annalist, 
Cusic ;  the  Housatonics,  Hendrik  Aupumut. 

The  treaty  was  concluded  November  11,  and  recognized  the  principles  of  all 
prior  treaties.  It  provided  for  the  payment  of  a  gratuity  of  ten  thousand  dollars  in 
money  and  goods,  which  were  to  be  delivered  on  the  ground.  A  permanent  annuity 
of  four  thousand  five  hundred  dollars,  payable  in  coin,  clothes,  cattle,  implements 
of  husbandry,  and  the  services  of  artificers,  was  likewise  stipulated  for.  All  the 
attendant  circumstances  of  this  convocation  were  imposing,  and  its  results  auspicious, 
being  marked  by  the  development  of  a  kindly  feeling  for  the  Union  by  the  Indians. 

1  Timothy  Pickering,  Esq. 

'  The  word  Sencka,  or  Seneca,  has  been  a  puzzle  to  inquirers.  How  •  Roman  proper  name  should  have 
become  the  distinctive  cognomen  fur  a  tribe  of  American  Indians  it  is  not  easy  to  say.  The  French,  who 
first  encountered  them  in  Western  New  York,  termed  them,  agreeably  to  their  system  of  bestowing  nick 
names,  Tsonontowans ;  that  in,  Rattlesnakes.  Being  one  of  the  members  of  the  Five  Nations,  they,  like  all 
the  others,  bore  the  generic  name  of  Iroquois.  The  Dutch,  who  recognized  them  in  the  trade  established  on 
the  site  of  Albany  as  early  as  1614,  appear  to  have  introduced  the  term  as  the  catchword  of  trade,  from  which 
the  word  is  derived.  This  numerous  and  warlike  tribe  appears  to  have  had  a  partiality  for  the  use  of  ver 
milion  as  a  war-paint.  This  article  is  called  by  the  Dutch  cinnabar  (tide  "  Niew  Zak  Woorden  Bock,"  Dor 
drecht,  1831).  From  some  notices  of  the  early  times  we  learn  that  the  pronunciation  of  the  letter  b  in  this 
word  was  changed  to  that  of  k  or  g,  from  which  it  may  be  inferred  that  they  were  named  Sin-ne-kan.  la 
one  of  the  oldest  maps,  published  at  Amsterdam,  the  word  is  written  Sen-ne-cacu.  The  doable  a  in  the 
Dutch  language  assumes  the  sound  of  a  in  mate ;  which  is  precisely  the  sound  still  retained.  All  the  early 
New  England  writers  consulted  adopted  this  sound,  with  little  variation. 

In  Lawson's  "  Travels  in  the  Carolina*  in  1700"  he  calls  them  Sinnegan,  and  sometimes  Janitoi,  and 
1  identifies  them  as  a  tribe  of  the  Iroquois.  The  Senecas  call  themselves  Nnndowa,  or  "  People  of  the  Hill,'' 
from  an  eminence  at  the  held  of  Canandaigoa,  Lake. 


292  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

The  organization  of  a  territorial  government  northwest  of  the  Ohio  exercised  a 
favorable  influence  on  Indian  affairs.  The  majority  of  the  tribes  on  that  border 
were  tired  of  war,  having  lost  as  many  warriors  by  disease  as  by  casualties  in  battle. 
The  marching  of  armies  had  frightened  away  the  large  game,  and  disorganized  the 
Indian  trade.  They  had  been  fighting,  also,  as  they  now  began  to  see,  for  a  phan 
tom  ;  for,  granting  that  they  imagined  themselves  to  have  been  engaged  in  preventing 
the  colonies  from  progressing  beyond  the  Ohio  (as  they  had  been  taught  by  foreign 
traders,  whose  interests  in  the  West  would  have  suffered  by  the  extension  of  the 
settlements),  they  could  not  fail  to  understand  that  it  had  never  constituted  an  object 
with  the  British  government,  as  it  received  no  consideration  in  the  treaty  concluded 
at  Versailles.  The  Wyandots,  Delawares,  Chippewas,  and  Ottawas  were  the  first  of 
the  Western  tribes  to  express  a  desire  for  peace.  They  united  in  a  treaty  concluded 
with  the  commissioners,  George  Rogers  Clarke,  Richard  Butler,  and  Arthur  Lee,  at 
Fort  Mclntosh,  on  the  Ohio,  January  21,  1785.  This  treaty  was  important  princi 
pally  as  inaugurating  a  system  of  dealing  with  the  tribes  by  written  contracts.  It 
evinced  the  disposition  of  the  government  to  treat  them  with  friendly  consideration, 
at  the  same  time  demonstrating  that  it  possessed  the  means  of  enforcing  its  man 
dates.  Boundaries  were  established  between  the  Wyandots  and  the  Delawares,  who 
agreed  upon  the  Cuyahoga  and  the  Tuscarawas  as  the  division-line,  the  treaty  thus 
giving  them  an  idea  of  the  necessity  of  establishing  and  respecting  geographical 
limitations. 

None  of  fhe  Southern  tribes  had  been  so  much  involved  in  hostile  proceedings  as 
the  Cherokees,  who  resided  nearest  the  scene  of  conflict,  and  had  participated  in 
some  of  the  forays  and  outrages  committed  on  the  Ohio.  They  also  at  an  early 
period  expressed  a  desire  for  peace. 

On  the  25th  of  November,  1785,  a  treaty  was  concluded  with  them  at  Hopewell, 
on  the  Keowee  fork  of  the  Savannah.  The  commissioners  were  Benjamin  Hawkins, 
Andrew  Pickens,  and  Joseph  Martin.  By  this  treaty  a  firm  friendship  was  declared 
to  be  established,  the  surrender  of  prisoners  and  negroes  was  stipulated  for,  and  a 
definite  boundary-line  was  fixed  within  which  the  fur-trade  should  be  conducted 
exclusively  under  an  American  system  of  license  or  authority.  A  similar  policy 
controlled  the  Choctaws  and  Chickasaws.  The  former  tribe  entered  into  negotiations 
with  the  same  commissioners  on  the  3d  of  January,  1786,  and  the  latter  on  the  10th 
of  the  same  month.  The  Southwestern  frontiers  were  thus  placed  in  a  condition 
of  security  by  the  proceedings  of  a  commission  composed  of  energetic  men  well 
acquainted  with  the  character  of  the  Indians,  by  whom  they  were  held  in  great 
respect. 

There  was  still  another  tribe  which  had  been  a  scourge  of  the  frontiers,  no  one 
organization  having  evinced  such  unmitigated  hatred  and  unrelenting  cruelty  as  the 
Shawnees.  Bearing  a  name  indicating  a  Southern  origin,  they  had  from  the  first 
resisted  with  desperate  fury  all  attempts  of  the  frontiersmen  of  North  Carolina  and 
Virginia  to  extend  their  settlements  beyond  the  Ohio  River.  With  the  agility  and 
eubtlety  of  the  panther,  they  crept  stealthily  through  the  forests  and  sprung  sud- 


POST-REVOLUTIONARY.  293 

denly  on  their  victims.  They  fought  at  the  battle  of  Kanawha  with  an  intrepidity 
unsurpassed  in  Indian  warfare.  Virginia  had  in  every  decade  of  her  existence  as  a 
colony  been  obliged  to  repel  their  incursions.  After  the  lapse  of  twelve  years  from 
the  conclusion  of  their  treaty  with  Lord  Dunmore,  on  the  Scioto,  in  1774,  their  chiefs 
assembled  at  the  mouth  of  the  Great  Miami,  signified  their  submission,  and  on  Jan 
uary  31,  1786,  signed  a  treaty  of  peace.  By  its  terms  they  agreed  to  surrender  all 
the  prisoners  in  their  possession,  and  were  assigned  a  territorial  position  south  of  the 
line  fixed  for  the  Wyandots  and  Delawares  by  the  treaty  of  Fort  Mclntosh  of 
January  21,  1785. 

Various  disturbing  elements  exercised  an  influence  on  the  powerful  Creek  nation 
during  the  entire  Revolutionary  contest ;  and,  after  pursuing  a  fluctuating  policy, 
which  called  for  perpetual  vigilance  on  the  part  of  the  authorities  of  Georgia  and 
South  Carolina,  their  hostility  was  clearly  evinced  by  the  formidable  night-attack 
made  under  Guristersigo  on  the  camp  of  General  Wayne,  near  Savannah,  in  1782. 
But  when  the  issue  of  the  Revolutionary  contest  became  a  fixed  fact,  the  Creeks 
expressed  a  wish  to  enter  into  friendly  relations  with  the  Union.  For  this  purpose, 
in  the  year  1790,  a  delegation,  comprising  twenty-four  of  their  most  distinguished 
chiefs,  visited  the  seat  of  government,  then  located  at  the  city  of  New  York.  This 
delegation  represented  all  the  principal  towns  and  septs  from  the  Coosawhatchie  and 
Chattahoochee  to  the  sources  of  the  Altamaha ;  it  also  embraced  a  delegation  of  the 
Seminoles,  and  was  headed  by  Alexander  McGillivray,  who  had  during  many  years 
exercised  a  controlling  influence  over  this  nation.  The  distinctions  of  Upper,  Middle, 
and  Lower  Creeks  were  insisted  on,  they  being  regarded  as  so  many  septs.  General 
"Washington  received  the  delegates  with  comity,  and  deputed  General  Knox,  Secre 
tary  of  War,  to  treat  with  them.  After  a  full  discussion  of  all  the  questions  involved, 
the  terms  were  agreed  on,  and  the  treaty  was  signed  August  7,  1790.  The  most 
important  of  its  provisions  was  the  establishment  of  boundaries.  It  contained  the 
usual  professions  of  amity,  and  stipulated  for  the  surrender  of  prisoners  taken  during 
the  war,  whites  and  negroes,  many  of  the  latter  being  refugees.  These  refugees  in 
the  Indian  territories  furnished  the  nucleus  of  slavery  among  the  Creeks,  Seminoles, 
Choctaws,  Chickasaws,  and  Cherokees.  The  Africans  were  not  adopted  as  members 
of  the  tribes,  but  held  as  persons  in  servitude,  and  by  performing  the  field-labor 
enabled  these  tribes  to  pursue  agriculture  without  being  themselves  compelled  to 
engage  in  manual  labor.  To  induce  the  Creeks  to  make  greater  advances  towards 
civilization,  a  clause  was  inserted  providing  that  they  should  be  furnished  from  time 
to  time  with  cattle  and  agricultural  implements.  This  wise  provision  has  had  the 
effect  of  rendering  the  nation  wealthy  in  animals  and  stock,  thus  enabling  them  to 
make  further  progress  in  the  social  scale. 

After  all  the  negotiations  were  concluded,  the  government  appointed  a  special 
agent  to  accompany  the  delegates  to  their  homes  and  report  on  their  condition.  This 
agent,  Major  Caleb  Swan,  performed  his  task  skilfully,  being  a  cautious  and  shrewd 
observer ;  and,  after  his  return,  he  communicated  to  General  Knox  a  valuable  report, 
accompanied  by  a  map  of  the  country,  a  detailed  account  of  their  principal  places  of 


294 


THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


residence,  and  a  carefully  prepared  and  comprehensive  view  of  their  manners  and 
customs.  He  gave  the  names  and  designated  the  locations  of  fifty-two  towns,  which 
were  estimated  to  contain  from  twenty-five  thousand  to  thirty  thousand  souls.  Of 
these,  between  five  thousand  and  six  thousand  were  reported  to  be  gun-men,  or  war 
riors.  It  may  he  remarked,  en  passant,  that  the  confederacy  of  the  Creeks  is  well 
deserving  of  study  as  an  illustration  of  Indian  political  and  social  order. 

By  some  of  the  older  writers  the  Creeks  are  called  Muscogulgees,  a  term  which 
has  apparently  been  shortened  to  Muskokis.  The  English  appellation  of  Creeks 
was  derived  from  a  geographical  feature  of  the  country  originally  occupied  by  them, 
which  is  remarkable  for  its  numerous  streams.  The  appellations  of  Alabama  and 
Okechoyatte  were  borne  by  them  at  an  early  period.  Their  language  is  one  of  the 
most  musical  of  the  Indian  tongues,  but  agrees  with  the  other  languages  in  its  prin 
ciples  of  synthesis,  its  coalescence  of  the  pronoun  with  the  noun,  and  its  agglutinative 
quality. 

Politically  speaking,  the  Creeks  possess  a  standing  and  influence  second  to  none 
of  the  other  tribes,  being  one  of  the  most  strongly  characterized  families  of  the 
aboriginal  race,  and  one  from  whom  we  may  expect  great  development. 


CHAPTER    II. 

c 

ESTABLISHMENT  OP  THE  NORTHWESTERN  TERRITORY— WAR  WITH  THE  WEST 
ERN  TRIBES— HARMAR'S  DEFEAT— SCOTT'S  EXPEDITION— ST.  CLAIR'S  DEFEAT 
—CONFERENCE  WITH  BRANT— WAYNE'S  CAMPAIGN— VICTORY  OF  THE  MAU- 
MEE  RAPIDS— PACIFICATION  OF  GREENVILLE. 

ONE  of  the  earliest  objects  of  attention  on  the  part  of  the  government,  under  the 
old  Articles  of  Confederation,  had  been  the  incorporation  of  the  Indian  territory 
northwest  of  the  Ohio.  No  sooner  had  the  war  terminated  than  all  eyes  began  to  be 
directed  to  that  quarter  as  the  future  land  of  promise  to  the  Union,  which  expecta 
tions  have  been  most  amply  fulfilled,  for  it  has  been  emphatically  the  Mother  of 
States,  the  most  prominent  among  them  being  the  stalwart  commonwealths  of  Ohio, 
Indiana,  and  Illinois.  General  Arthur  St.  Glair  was  appointed  by  Washington  the 
first  governor  of  the  territory.  The  most  important  topic  which  called  for  his  atten 
tion  was  the  state  of  the  Indian  tribes,  which  question  he  found  to  be  surrounded 
with  peculiar  difficulties.  None  of  the  tribes  had  suffered  so  little  by  the  war  as  the 
Miamis,  Weas,  and  Piankeshaws  of  the  Wabash.  For  several  years  the  Indians 
exceeded  in  numbers  the  settlers,  who  were  located  at  various  prominent  points ; 
and,  consequently,  the  frontier  settlements  were  entirely  at  the  mercy  of  the  savages. 
It  was  therefore  necessary  to  strengthen  the  bonds  of  amity  with  the  Indians  by 
treaty  stipulations.  When  the  treaty  system  was  introduced  in  negotiations  with  the 
Indian  tribes,  who  could  neither  read  nor  write,  an  expectation  of  security  and 
advantage  from  such  instruments  was  indulged  far  beyond  what  the  moral  character 
of  the  aborigines  and  their  actual  appreciation  of  the  advantages  secured  to  them 
ever  justified.  Still,  this  system  promised  the  surest  means  of  attaining  success. 
.  From  the  earliest  traditionary  times  it  had  been  the  custom  of  the  Indians  to  hold 
formal  meetings  of  their  chiefs  for  the  purpose  of  adjusting  their  affairs,  to  which 
the  greatest  ceremony  and  solemnity  were  given  by  smoking  the  sacred  weed  and  by 
the  exchange  of  wampum-belts.  The  like  ceremony  and  solemnity  were  used  by  the 
commissioners  and  commanders  to  whom  these  negotiations  were  intrusted  on  con 
cluding  the  treaties,  by  exchanging  the  muzzinicyuns*  on  which  the  verbal  agree 
ments  had  been  written.  To  renew  and  extend  these  obligations  was,  according  to 
Indian  phraseology,  to  tighten  the  chain  of  friendship. 

On  the  9th  of  January,  1789,  nearly  three  months  before  the  adoption  of  the 
present  Constitution,  General  St.  Glair  concluded  a  treaty  with  a  large  delegation  of 
the  Six  Nations  assembled  at  Fort  Ilarmur,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Muskingum.  The 

1  Meaning  treaties  or  graphic  papers. 

295 


296  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

chief  object  of  this  treaty  was  to  renew  and  confirm  that  entered  into  at  Fort  Stan- 
wix  in  1784.  To  secure  order,  a  body  of  United  States  troops  was  encamped  there, 
under  Colonel  Hannar,  and  the  treaty  of  Fort  Mclntosh  of  January  21,  1785,  was 
reconfirmed  by  the  original  parties  to  it,  to  whom  was  added  a  delegation  from  the 
Pottawatomies  and  Sacs. 

From  an  explanatory  article  appended  to  this  treaty  it  appears  that  the  Wyan- 

dots  accused  the  Shawnees  of  having  laid  claim  to  lands  that  did  not  belong  to 

them,  these  lands  being  a  part  of  the  Wyandot  domain.     The  respected  Wyandot 

:  chief  Tarhe  was  present  at  the  negotiation  of  this  treaty.     It  was  affirmed  by  the 

j  Wyandote  that  the  Shawnees,  who  signed  the  treaty  of  peace  concluded  at  the  Miami, 

;  had  been  guilty  of  injustice;  and  they  further  averred  that  "the  Shawnees  have 

j  been  so  restless,  and  caused  so  much  trouble,  both  to  them  and  to  the  United  States, 

;  that  if  they  will  not  now  be  at  peace,  they  (the  Wyandots)  will  dispossess  them,  and 

•  take  the  country  into  their  own  hands ;  for  the  country  is  theirs  of  right,  and  the 

"  Shawnees  are  only  living  upon  it  by  their  permission." 

In  1789,  General  St.  Clair  also  negotiated  a  treaty  witk  the  Wyandots,  Delawares, 
Ottawas,  Chippewas,  Sacs,  and  Pottawatomies,  through  the  chiefs  assembled  at  Fort 
Harmar.  This  treaty  has  been  called  "a  piece  of  Indian  diplomacy  which  the 
Indians  never  intended  to  abide  by  any  longer  than  suited  their  convenience." 
These  assemblages,  however,  were  convened  in  pursuance  of  the  pacific  policy  of 
Washington,  and  had  their  effect.  This  last  treaty  of  the  confederated  nations  of 
the  lake,  the  Ojibwas,  Ottawas,  Kickapoos,  Weas,  Piaukeshaws,  Pottawatomies,  Eel 
River  Indians,  Kuskaskias,  and  Miamis,  refused  to  acknowledge  as  binding.  They 
wished  the  Ohio  to  be  the  perpetual  western  boundary  of  civilization,  and  would  not 
sell  an  acre  north  of  it 

Our  Indian  relations  were  at  this  time  in  a  very  critical  state.  By  the  terms  of 
the  treaty  of  peace,  Great  Britain  was  to  evacuate  all  the  posts  and  forts  held  by  her 
without  delay.  From  complications  not  then  anticipated,  she  retained  possession  of 
the  frontier  posts  for  a  number  of  years.  This  fact  gave  the  impression  to  the 
Indians  that  the  controversy  was  not  yet  closed,  and  their  minds  were  poisoned  by 
those  about  the  posts.  The  British  purposely  aided  and  abetted  them  in  their  hos 
tility  to  the  United  States.  Braat,  their  leader,  formed  them  into  a  confederacy, 
and  visited  England  to  obtain  the  support  of  the  British  government  in  case  of  war. 
Emigration  flowed  over  the  Alleghanies  with  great  rapidity,  and  the  lands  to  which 
the  Indian  title  had  been  extinguished  were  daily  filling  up.  The  nucleus  of  the 
future  State  of  Ohio  had  been  established  at  Marietta  in  1788.  Collision  could  not 
be  avoided  between  two  races  so  antagonistic  in  habits  and  feelings  as  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  and  the  Indian.  Murders  were  committed,  which  were  retaliated  by  similar 
outrages.  It  became  evident  that  an  open  Indian  war  must  speedily  ensue.  The 
Delawares,  the  Shawnees,  and  the  Wyandots  having  measured  swords,  to  their  cost, 
with  the  British,  as  also  with  the  colonies,  it  was  clear  that  the  issue  would  not  be 
with  either  of  these  tribes.  Hostile  demonstrations  were  apprehended  from  the 
Miamis  and  their  co-tribes,  the  Weas  and  Piankeshaws.  The  residence  of  these 


POST-REVOLUTIONARY.  297 

tribes  was  located  in  the  Wabasli  Valley,  one  of  the  most  genial  regions  in  the  West 
Possessing  an  extraordinarily  fertile  soil,  which  yielded  large  quantities  of  corn, 
grain,  and  fruit,  with  exuberant  forests  abounding  in  deer,  bears,  and  other  animals, 
their  population  was  remarkably  vigorous,  while  their  insolence  knew  no  bounds. 
In  September,  1790,  Colonel  Josiah  Harmar  was  directed  to  advance  into  their 
country  and  endeavor  to  bring  them  to  terms.  Such  a  march,  encumbered  with 
stores  and  supplies,  through  a  wilderness  destitute  of  roads,  was  in  itself  an  arduous 
undertaking.  The  pioneer  work  of  an  army  has  always  been  one  of  the  severest 
duties  of  a  Western  campaign :  it  is  the  toil  and  the  triumph  of  the  quartermaster's 
department.  Roads  must  be  made,  bridges  built,  provisions  packed,  arms  and 
ammunition  carried ;  every  delay  must  be  endured,  every  difficulty  overcome.  On 
October  19,  with  a  force  of  thirty  regulars  and  four  hundred  and  eighty  militia, 
Colonel  Harmar,  who  had  reached  the  elevated  grounds  forming  the  present  site  of 
Fort  Wayne,  which  are  washed  by  the  river  Maumce,  whose  swift  but  shallow  rapids 
are  easily  forded,  engaged  the  Indians  and  was  defeated.  Observations  made  on  the 
rising  grounds  beyond  the  stream  on  the  22d  disclosed  the  presence  of  the  enemv, 
whose  demonstrations  were  intended  to  convey  the  idea  that  they  were  in  force  in 
that  quarter.  But  this  proved  to  be  only  a  decoy  :  they  had  crouched  down  in  the 
thick  undergrowth  and  weeds,  and  were  concealed  along  the  western  shore.  The 
army  was  directed  to  cross  the  stream  at  this  rapid,  but  had  not  proceeded  far  when 
a  heavy  fire  of  musketry  was  poured  in,  accompanied  by  the  most  frightful  cries. 
The  men  were  rallied  by  spirited  officers,  Major  Wyllis  and  other  brave  officers  being 
killed  in  this  effort.  The  fire  of  the  Indians  was  continued  and  well  sustained,  they 
being  plentifully  supplied  with  guns  and  ammunition.  The  line  having  faltered  and 
fallen  back,  the  retreating  columns  were  marched  to  an  elevated  position,  where  they 
were  reorganized.  The  loss  in  the  two  engagements  amounted  to  one  hundred  and 
eighty-three  killed  and  thirty-one  wounded.1  On  the  side  of  the  Indians  the  loss  was 
fifteen  or  twenty.  So  severe  a  defeat  could  not  be  repaired  without  a  reinforcement, 
and  Harmar  determined  to  return  to  the  banks  of  the  Ohio,  which  he  did  without 
further  molestation  from  the  Indians. 

Washington  expressed  doubts  as  to  the  justice  of  an  offensive  war  upon  the  tribes 
of  the  Wabash  and  Maumee.  Instead  of  assuming  the  offensive  in  1790  and  1791, 
government  should  have  sent  commissioners  of  high  character  to  the  Lake  tribes, 
and  in  the  presence  of  the  British  ascertained  their  causes  of  complaint  and  offered 
fair  terms  of  compromise.  That  such  a  step  would  have  been  wise  and  just  is 
acknowledged  by  its  subsequent  action,  and  it  was  surely  more  likely  to  be  effective 
before  the  savages  had  twice  defeated  the  army  than  afterwards. 

Only  three  tribes  aided  the  colonies  to  any  extent  in  the  Revolutionary  contest, 
— the  Oneidas,  the  Tuscaroras,  and  the  Mohicans.  Thus  far,  treaties  of  peace  had 
been  concluded  with  the  recreant  Onondagas,  Cayugas,  and  Senecas  in  the  North, 
with  the  Creeks,  Chickasaws,  Choctaws,  and  Cherokees  in  the  South,  and  with  the 

1  Mt-tcalf's  Collection  of  Narratives  of  Indian  Warfare  in  the  West,  p.  109. 

11—38 


298  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Wyandots,  Delawares,  Shawnees,  Chippewas,  Ottawas,  Pottawatomies,  and  Sacs  in 
the  West ;  but  the  seven  latter,  who  bore  a  very  questionable  character,  could  not 
be  relied  on,  while  the  Miamis,  Weas,  and  Piankeshaws  of  the  Wabash  were  in  open 
hostility.  They  had  during  the  previous  year  defeated  llurmar  at  the  joint  sources 
of  the  Great  Miami  of  the  Ohio  and  the  Miami  of  the  Lakes.  The  river  Maumee 
formed  the  grand  medium  of  Northern  Indian  communication  with  the  Ottawas  of 
the  lower  part  of  that  valley,  the  Wyandots  of  Sandusky  and  Eastern  Michigan,  and 
the  Chippewas  of  Detroit,  as  well  as  other  Lake  tribes,  who  were  in  the  practice 
of  joining  the  Wyandots,  Delawares,  and  Shawnees  in  their  inroads  on  the  Ohio 
frontiers. 

The  Miamis  were  an  active,  bold,  and  numerous  race,  who,  under  the  name  of 
Twightwees,  had  been  the  objects  of  special  attack  by  the  Iroquois  ever  since  the  era 
of  the  French  occupancy.  They  had  been  driven  by  them  to  more  southerly  and 
westerly  locations  than  those  which  they  had  formerly  inhabited,  and  were  now  the 
undisputed  masters  of  the  Wabash  Valley.  During  the  fierce  and  sanguinary  war 
fare  of  1782,  when  so  many  expeditions  were  sent  against  the  Shawnees,  Wyandots, 
and  Delawares,  the  Miamis  received  no  specific  notice,  but  appear  to  have  been 
included  in  the  widely-diffused  Ottawa  and  Chippewa  race,  whom  they  resemble  in 
features,  manners,  customs,  and  language.  General  James  Clinton,  during  the  cam 
paign  against  the  Six  Nations,  in  1779,  observed  that  the  sympathy  existing  between 
the  races,  even  where  they  were  placed  in  antagonistic  positions,  was  so  great  that 
but  little  reliance  could  be  placed  on  them  in  exigencies.  When  war  broke  out, 
it  required  close  observation  to  discriminate  very  particularly  between  the  grades  of 
hostility,  if  indeed  there  was  any  at  all,  existing  among  the  different  members  of 
affiliated  tribes.  Nor  did  the  Indians  make  any  distinction  between  the  various 
.  races  of  the  whites.  It  was,  in  truth,  a  war  of  races ;  an  attempt,  if  we  may  so 
term  it,  of  the  descendants  of  Japhet  to  shackle  the  wild  sons  of  Shem  and  to 
"  dwell  in  his  tents." 

The  earliest  movement  of  any  note  in  the  campaign  of  1791  against  the  Wabash 
Indians  and  their  allies  was  made  by  the  expedition  intrusted  to  General  Charles 
Scott,  of  Kentucky.  On  the  23d  of  May  in  that  year,  General  Scott  set  out  from 
the  banks  of  the  Ohio  with  a  total  force  of  eight  hundred  and  fifty  men,  a  part  of 
whom  were  regulars,  under  command  of  Colonel  James  Wilkinson,  but  by  far  the 
largest  part  of  his  army  consisted  of  brave  and  experienced  mounted  volunteers. 
The  month  of  June  was  passed  in  traversing  the  vast  extent  of  forest-land  watered 
by  the  tributaries  of  the  Wabash  River.  On  the  1st  of  August  he  reached  the 
vicinity  of  Ouiattonon,  the  largest  of  the  Miami  towns.  This  place  was  promptly 
attacked,  several  warriors  were  killed,  and  the  Indians,  under  a  severe  fire  from  the 
riflemen,  were  driven  across  the  Wabash,  their  landing  being  covered  by  the  warriors 
belonging  to  a  village  of  Kickapoos,  who  maintained  a  constant  fire.  A  detachment 
under  Colonel  Hardin  having  been  ordered  to  cross  the  river  at  a  point  lower  down, 
did  so  unobserved  by  the  Indians,  and  stormed  the  Kickapoo  town,  killing  six  war 
riors  and  taking  fifty-two  prisoners.  The  following  morning  five  hundred  men  were 


POST-REVOLUTIONARY.  299 

directed  to  capture  and  destroy  the  important  town  of  Kithlipecanuk,  located  on  the 
•west  bank  of  the  Wabash,  at  the  mouth  of  Eel  River,  a  distance  of  eighteen  milea 
from  the  camp.  After  demolishing  the  Indian  towns  and  villages,  devastating  their 
corn-fields  and  gardens,  and  killing  thirty-two  warriors,  besides  taking  fifty-eight 
prisoners,  General  Scott  returned  to  the  Ohio,  which  he  reached  on  August  14 
without  the  loss  of  one  man,  and  with  but  five  wounded. 

This  detail  is  but  a  necessary  preface  to  what  follows.  The  Indians,  being  a  people 
of  imperturbable  character,  are  but  slightly  affected  by  those  lessons  of  military  war 
fare  which  are  not  fraught  with  calamities  of  a  continuous  character.  They  dex 
terously  avoid  the  danger  they  cannot  resist,  and  when  no  longer  threatened  they 
at  once  return  to  their  former  acts  of  pillage  and  atrocity.  Some  more  formidable 
and  permanent  efforts  were  evidently  necessary  to  bring  the  tribes  to  terms,  and 
"  to  secure  the  great  object  of  the  campaign,  the  establishment  of  a  strong  military 
post  at  the  .Miami  village  at  the  junction  of  the  St.  Mary's  and  St.  Joseph's  Rivers." 
In  this  connection  it  is  well  to  remember  that  by  the  terms  of  St.  Glair's  treaty, 
three  years  before,  this  territory  was  confirmed  to  the  Indian  nations  "  forever,"  "  the 
said  Indian  nations  to  punish  all  intruders  as  they  see  fit."  For  the  purpose  above 
mentioned,  Arthur  St.  Glair  was  commissioned  a  major-general  in  the  army  of  the 
United  States  early  in  March,  1791.1  Washington  was  very  anxious  on  the  sub 
ject,  and  urged  on  the  general  the  importance  of  proceeding  with  all  practicable 
promptitude. 

St.  Glair  was  a  disciplined  soldier,  who,  having  served  under  Wolfe,  Monckton, 
and  Murray,  and  through  all  the  campaigns  of  the  Revolutionary  war,  enjoyed  the 
confidence  of  Washington  as  a  man  of  undoubted  bravery  and  prudence.  On  the 
15th  of  May  he  reached  Fort  Washington,  now  the  site  of  Cincinnati.  The  delays 
attending  the  arrival  of  troops  and  supplies  and  the  organization  of  the  army  gave 
rise  to  complaints,  the  whole  summer  being  passed  away  in  this  manner.  Fort  Ham 
ilton,  the  point  of  support  on  the  Great  Miami,  was  not  completed  until  the  13th  of 
September,  and  the  mouth  of  October  had  arrived  before  the  different  corps  of  troops 
and  levies  were  all  mustered  into  service.  On  the  13th  of  October  the  army  had 
advanced  forty-four  miles  from  Fort  Hamilton,  and  encamped  on  an  eligible  spot, 
where  St.  Glair  built  Fort  Jefferson.  Then  advancing  with  caution  and  order,  on 
the  3d  of  November  he  arrived  at  a  stream  twelve  yards  in  width,  which  he  supposed 
to  be  the  St.  Mary's,  one  of  the  principal  sources  of  the  Maumee,  but  which  was  in 
reality  a  branch  of  the  Wabash.  It  being  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  when  the 
army  reached  this  stream,  St.  Glair  proceeded  up  its  banks  nine  miles,  and  encamped 
on  an  eligible  piece  of  ground  in  military  order.  He  had  designed  constructing  a 
breastwork  at  this  place  for  the  security  of  his  baggage,  but  before  he  could  effect  this 
purpose  the  Indians,  half  an  hour  before  sunrise  the  following  morning  (the  4th), 
made  a  furious  attack  on  his  lines.  They  were  in  great  force,  the  slowness  of  St. 

1  See  "  A  Narrative  of  a  Campaign  against  the  Indiana,  under  the  Command  of  Mmjor-Genend  St.  Glair," 
Philadelphia,  1812,  p.  1. 


300  TUB  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

. 

Clair'a  march  up  the  stream  haying  allowed  them  an  opportunity  to  concentrate  all 
the  forces  of  their  allies. 

St  Clair  was  governor  of  the  Northwest  Territory.  Old  and  infirm,  he  suffered 
so  severely  from  gout  as  to  have  to  be  carried  about  on  a  litter.  The  proximity  of 
the  foe  was  communicated  to  General  Richard  Butler,  second  in  command,  but  not 
to  St.  Clair.  The  latter  was  particularly  unpopular  in  Kentucky,  and,  as  none  would 
volunteer  under  him,  one  thousand  men  were  drafted,  who  were  compelled  to  serve 
"  under  a  gouty  old  disciplinarian"  whom  they  disliked,  and  in  conjunction  with  a 
regular  force  which  they  regarded  as  doomed  to  destruction  in  Indian  warfare. 
Many  in  consequence  deserted,  an  entire  regiment  leaving  him  on  May  1,  and  at  the 
time  of  the  battle  only  two  hundred  and  fifty  Kentuckians  remained  in  camp. 

Unfortunately,  the  Indians,  who  were  led  into  action  by  the  valiant  Wapacomegat,1 
a  Mississagie,  first  encountered  the  militia  and  raw  troops,  who  immediately  fled 
through  the  line,  pursued  by  the  Indians,  thus  producing  irremediable  confusion. 
The  Indians  were  checked,  however,  by  a  spirited  fire  from  the  front  line,  but  in 
a  few  moments  that  and  the  second  line  were  vigorously  attacked,  and  the  soldiers 
of  the  artillery  corps,  who  formed  the  centre,  were  shot  down  at  their  guns.  The 
slaughter  was  terrific  on  every  side,  and  the  confusion  extended  to  the  centre.  At 
this  moment  St.  Clair  ordered  the  front  line  to  charge,  which  they  did  very  gal 
lantly,  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Darke.  The  Indians  fled  several  hundred 
yards,  but  again  rallied  when  the  troops  returned  to  their  position.  At  tliis  time  the 
second  line  also  charged  with  effect,  but  the  fire  of  the  Indians  was  very  galling,  and 
produced  greater  confusion  because  of  the  large  number  of  officers  killed  and 
wounded.  The  artillery  were  silenced,  all  the  officers  being  killed  but  one,  and 
he  was  wounded.  The  Indians  simultaneously  attacked  front,  flanks,  and  rear. 
General  Butler  was  killed,  as  also  Colonel  Oldham,  and  Majors  Hart,  Ferguson, 
and  Clarke.  More  than  one-half  the  rank  and  file  of  the  army  had  fallen,  and  the 
extermination  of  the  rest  seemed  inevitable.  The  combat  had  lasted  from  about  six 
o'clock  to  nine  AM.,*  when  General  St.  Clair  led  a  charge  through  the  Indian  line 
in  the  rear,  under  cover  of  which  the  remains  of  the  army  retreated  in  disorder  until 
they  reached  Fort  Jefferson.  The  camp  and  the  artillery  were  precipitately  aban 
doned,  and  the  men  threw  away  their  arms  and  ammunition.  The  army  had  origi 
nally  consisted  of  alx>ut  fourteen  hundred  men,  of  whom  six  hundred  and  thirty-two 
were  killed  and  two  hundred  and  sixty-four  wounded,  including  sixty-four  officers,  a 
loss  equal  to  that  experienced  at  Braddock's  defeat. 

The  effects  of  this  defeat  were  most  disastrous  to  the  Western  settlements.  Im 
migration  was  checked,  and  dismay  prevailed  along  the  entire  frontier.  After  a 
thorough  investigation,  a  committee  appointed  by  Congress  completely  vindicated 
General  St.  Clair  from  the  charges  made  against  him. 

1  This  chief  had  attended  the  general  peace  conTention  and  submitted  to  the  British  under  General 
Bradstreet  in  1764.  See  51  ante. 

1  At  this  period  of  the  year  the  ma  rues  in  this  latitude  at  thirty-two  minutes  put  six. 


POST-REVOLUTIONARY.  301 

Before  St.  Glair's  army  set  out  on  its  ill-fated  expedition,  a  "  talk"  was  held  at 
Niagara  between  Brant,  the  Mohawk  chief,  with  some  fifty  other  Indian  deputies, 
and  General  Benjamin  Lincoln,  Beverly  Randolph,  and  Colonel  Timothy  Pickering, 
United  States  Commissioners,  with  the  object  of  running  a  new  boundary-line  to  take 
in  Indian  lands  north  of  the  Ohio. 

The  reader  will  bear  in  mind  that  the  treaty  of  Fort  Mclntosh,  made  January 
21,  1785,  was  with  the  Wyandot,  Delaware,  Chippewa,  and  Ottawa  nations  only, 
and  that  St.  Glair's  treaty  of  1789  was  with  the  above-named  and  the  Pottawatomie 
and  Sac  nations  only.  Other  Northwestern  tribes  had  no  part  in  either.  In  the  ordi 
nance  of  1787  establishing  the  Northwestern  Territory,  the  following  provision  is 
found :  "  The  utmost  good  faith  shall  always  be  observed  towards  the  Indians ;  their 
lands  and  property  shall  never  be  taken  from  them  without  their  consent ;  and  in 
their  property  rights  and  liberty  they  shall  never  be  invaded  or  disturbed  unless 
in  just  and  lawful  wars,  authorized  by  Congress ;  but  laws  founded  in  justice  and 
humanity  shall  from  time  to  time  be  made  for  preventing  wrongs  being  done  to  them, 
and  for  preserving  peace  and  friendship  with  them." 

The  final  reply  to  the  talk  of  the  commissioners  at  Niagara  was  adopted  in  a 
general  council  of  the  confederate  Indian  nations  held  at  the  Maumee  Rapids,  August 
13,  1793.  Among  other  things,  they  said,  "Governor  St.  Clair,  your  commissioner 
in  the  beginning  of  the  year  1789,  after  having  been  informed  by  the  general  council 
of  the  preceding  fall  that  no  bargain  or  sale  for  any  part  of  their  Indian  lands  would 
be  considered  binding  unless  agreed  to  by  a  general  council,  nevertheless  persisted  in 
collecting  together  a  few  chiefs  of  two  or  three  nations  only,  and  with  them  held  a 
treaty  for  the  cession  of  an  immense  country,  in  which  they  were  no  more  interested 
than  as  a  branch  of  the  general  confederacy,  and  who  were  in  no  manner  authorized 
to  make  any  grant  or  concession  whatever.  That  part  of  these  lands  which  the 
United  States  now  wish  us  to  relinquish,  and  which  you  say  is  settled,  has  been  sold 
by  the  United  States  since  that  time." 

In  answer  to  the  proposal  to  give  the  Indians  a  large  sum  of  money  for  their 
lands,  they  replied  that  money  was  of  no  value  to  them,  and  to  most  of  them  was 
unknown,  and  that  no  consideration  would  induce  them  to  sell.  They  also  pointed 
out  a  very  simple  mode  by  which  the  settlers  might  be  removed  and  peace  secured. 
"  Divide,"  said  they, "  this  large  sum  of  money  which  you  have  offered  us  among  these 
people.  Give  to  each,  also,  a  proportion  of  what  you  say  you  would  give  to  us  annually 
over  and  above  this  large  sum  of  money.  They  would  most  readily  accept  of  it  in 
lieu  of  the  land  you  sold  them.  If  you  add,  also,  the  great  sums  you  must  expend 
in  raising  and  paying  armies,  you  will  certainly  have  more  than  sufficient  for  the 
purpose  of  repaying  these  settlers  for  all  their  labor  and  all  their  improvements. 
We  want  peace.  Restore  to  us  our  country,  and  we  shall  be  enemies  no  longer. 
Let  the  Ohio  be  the  boundary-line  between  us." 

To  this  document,  signed  by  the  deputies  of  the  principal  Western  tribes,  the 
commissioners  made  no  reply :  indeed,  they  could  make  none ;  and  the  only  alternative 
was  a  resort  to  arms.  It  cannot  be  denied  that  the  invasion  and  occupation  of  the  ter- 


302  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

ritory  northwest  of  the  Ohio  River  iras  made  anterior  to  any  arrangement  with  the 
natives  for  that  purpose.  The  arguments  and  facts  presented  by  them  to  our  com 
missioners  could  be  answered  only  by  the  military  power,  and,  unable  to  contend 
successfully  with  this,  the  red  men  were  ultimately  compelled  to  yield  the  required 
boundary. 

The  effect  produced  in  Philadelphia,  then  the  capital,  by  the  intelligence  of  St 
Glair's  defeat  was  electric.  Washington  had  never  counselled  half-way  measures 
with  the  Indians,  and  this  result  had  disappointed  his  expectations.  Knox,  his 
Secretary  of  War,  had  no  personal  experience  in  Indian  warfare.  It  was  of  the 
utmost  moment  to  make  another  effort,  as  early  the  following  spring  as  possible,  to 
gain  the  ascendency  in  the  West,  where  the  plan  of  establishing  a  chain  of  forts 
between  Cincinnati  and  the  Miami  villages  had  been  thus  overthrown.  An  exami 
nation  of  the  list  of  officers  experienced  in  savage  military  manoeuvres  resulted  in 
the  choice  of  General  Anthony  Wayne,  whose  decision  of  character  was  well  known. 
He  had  in  1782  led  a  successful  cavalry  charge  against  a  night-attack  of  the  Creeks 
near  Savannah.  Firm  and  cautious,  but  of  chivalrous  daring,  nature  had  bestowed 
on  him  the  talents  and  energy  necessary  to  cope  with  the  Western  Indians. 

Prior  to  the  march  of  General  Wayne,  Washington  resolved  to  make  another 
attempt  to  bring  the  hostile  Indians  of  the  West  to  terms  by  negotiation.  For  this 
purpose  Colonel  Hardin  and  Major  Trueman,  two  experienced  men,  were  appointed 
commissioners,  and  directed  to  visit  the  towns  on  the  Scioto.  But  these  officers  were 
both  waylaid  and  killed  while  descending  the  Ohio,  and  thus  the  overture  failed. 
Various  peace-makers  were  sent  into  the  Indian  country,  but  their  overtures  were 
rejected  one  after  another  by  the  victorious  savages.  General  Wayne's  movements 
were  also  delayed  by  another  object  of  pressing  moment,  which  was  to  intercept  a 
threatened  invasion  of  Louisiana  from  Kentucky.  For  this  purpose  he  was  detained 
at  Fort  Massac  during  a  portion  of  the  year  1793,  after  which  he  contented  himself 
with  ascending  the  Miami  Valley,  six  miles  above  Fort  Jefferson,  where  he  estab 
lished  himself  in  a  fortified  camp  called  Greenville. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  detail  here  the  process  of  organizing  the  new  army,  or  the 
difficulties  and  delays  it  encountered.  Wayne  was  determined  not  to  be  defeated ; 
and  defeat,  when  operating  against  an  enemy  so  subtle  as  the  Indians  and  so  inti 
mately  acquainted  with  the  peculiar  geographical  features  of  the  surrounding 
country,  could  be  guarded  against  only  by  the  most  untiring  vigilance,  prudence, 
and  caution.  The  season  for  active  operations  was  spent  in  collecting  the  forces  on 
a  remote  frontier  and  bringing  them  into  the  field.  It  was  necessary  to  proceed 
slowly,  as  roads  must  be  opened,  bridges  built,  and  block-houses  erected  to  serve  as 
points  of  supply  and  communication.  A  large  corps  of  pioneers  was  required  to  be 
constantly  employed,  which  it  was  necessary  to  protect  by  a  strong  force  of  cavalry 
and  riflemen.  The  delays  arising  from  these  causes  were  the  subject  of  unjust  com 
plaint  in  the  newspaper  press  of  that  period.  Two  armies  had  been  defeated  in 
endeavors  to  penetrate  the  great  wilderness  to  the  Wabash, — a  country  well  suited  to 
the  operations  of  a  savage  foe,  but  abounding  in  obstacles  to  the  progress  of  a  civil- 


POS  T-KE  VOL  UTIONAR  T.  303 

ized  army,  encumbered  with  baggage,  cannon,  and  stores,  who  must  have  a  passable 
road,  and  could  not  cross  a  stream  of  even  the  third  magnitude  without  a  bridge. 
The  army  was  systematically  employed  in  this  difficult  and  laborious  service,  ever 
distasteful  to  volunteers,  who  composed  a  part  of  the  forces.  This  labor,  however, 
was  the  forerunner  of  success.  Every  day  devoted  to  these  toils,  and  to  the  discipline 
of  the  army,  rendered  it  more  active,  efficient,  and  fit  for  the  purpose  in  view. 
Wayne  then  took  possession  of  the  grounds  where  St.  Clair  had  been  defeated  in 
1791,  and,  having  built  Fort  Recovery,  wintered  his  army  there. 

On  the  30th  of  the  following  June  this  fort  was  invested  by  a  large  body  of 
Indians  under  Little  Turtle,  the  successful  commander  in  the  battle  with  St.  Clair, 
whose  spies  had  closely  reconnoitred  it,  while  the  main  force  lay  near  by  under 
cover.  They  had  noticed  that  at  certain  times  the  horses  of  the  officers  were 
admitted  into  the  fort  through  the  sally-port,  and  on  one  of  these  occasions  they 
followed  them  with  a  desperate  onset,  knowing  that  the  outer  gates  would  be  opened. 
The  troops,  however,  being  well  disciplined,  repelled  this  assault  of  a  prodigious 
force  of  the  hitherto  concealed  Indians.  The  following  day  they  made  the  forest 
echo  with  their  whoops,  renewing  the  attack  in  greater  force  and  with  greater  violence, 
but  they  were  again  repulsed  with  loss. 

Fort  Recovery  was  located  near  the  head  of  the  Maumee,  and  formed  the  key  of 
the  route  to  the  Northwest,  this  valley  being  at  that  time  the  great  thoroughfare  of 
the  Northwestern  Indians  from  Detroit  and  the  upper  lakes,  through  which,  with 
great  vindictiveness,  they  had  so  long  poured  their  infuriated  hordes  over  the  fertile 
regions  of  the  Ohio  Valley  and  the  settlements  west  of  the  Alleghany  chain.  The 
area  of  their  attacks  embraced  not  only  the  present  limits  of  Ohio,  Indiana,  and 
Illinois,  but  all  Western  Pennsylvania,  Virginia,  Kentucky,  and  part  of  Tennessee. 
It  was  from  these  States  that  Wayne  drew  all  his  levies  and  volunteers,  who  were 
imbued  with  such  hatred  of  the  savages,  consequent  upon  a  vivid  remembrance  of 
Indian  cruelties,  that  it  required  a  man  like  Wayne  to  restrain  them.  Rash  courage 
and  vindictiveness  are  but  poor  qualifications  for  an  encounter  with  Indians  in  a  forest, 
as  many  a  partisan  commander  has  realized  to  his  cost. 

A  fortnight  after  the  last  Indian  attack,  Wayne  continued  his  march  down  the 
-^iiMm-Valley.  An  impenetrable  forest  lay  before  him,  through  which  nothing  but 
an  Indian  footpath  or  a  trader's  trail  could  be  discerned.  But  every  company  of  his 
men  was  in  itself  a  phalanx,  and  the  order  of  march  was  such  as  to  set  surprise  at 
defiance.  In  four  days  he  reached  the  junction  of  the  river  Au  Glaize  with  the 
Maumee,  where  he  built  Fort  Defiance.  Crossing  the  Maumee  at  this  point  to  its 
west  banks,  he  continued  his  march  to  the  head  of  the  first  rapids,  called  Roche 
du  Bout,  or  the  Standing  Rock.  At  this  place  a  temporary  work  was  constructed 
wherein  to  deposit  the  heavy  stores  and  baggage,  and  he  then  pushed  forward  in  the 
same  order,  and  with  like  vigilance,  for  the  principal  Indian  towns  at  the  lower 
rapids. 

Using  the  figurative  language  of  the  Indians,  General  Wayne's  army  resembled 
a  dark  cloud  moving  steadily  and  slowly  forward.    He  had  driven  them  one  hundred 


304  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

and  fifty  miles  from  their  fighting-ground  on  the  river  St.  Mary's,  and  the  sources 
of  the  Wabash,  and  it  appeared  impossible  for  them  to  oppose  him  in  buttle.  At 
every  point  of  attack  they  had  found  him  prepared.  They  said  of  him  that  he  was 
a  man  who  never  slept,  and  they  named  him  the  Strong  Wind.  They  had  found  it 
impossible  to  stay  the  impetuosity  of  his  march,  and  it  was  doubted  in  their  councils 
whether  a  general  battle  should  be  hazarded,  but,  after  much  discussion,  this  measure 
was  resolved  on.  The  place  selected  was  Presque  Isle,  a  thickly-wooded  oasis,  'such 
as  is  common  to  prairie  districts  in  the  West,  encompassed  by  low  and  grassy 
meadow-lands,  the  upper  part  of  which  was  encumbered  by  old,  fallen  timbers,  where 
horses  could  not  be  employed,  and  here  was  fought  the  battle  of  the  Maumee  Rapids. 
On  the  20th  of  August  the  Indians  arranged  their  forces  in  three  lines,  within  sup 
porting  distance,  and  at  right  angles  with  the  river.  Wayne  knew  not  whether  they 
would  fight  or  negotiate,  as  offers  of  peace  had  been  made  to  them.  His  army 
marched  in  compact  columns,  in  the  usual  order,  preceded  by  a  battalion  of  volun 
teers  so  far  in  advance  that  timely  notice  could  be  given  to  the  troops  to  form  in  case 
of  an  attack.  This  corps  had  progressed  about  five  miles  when  they  received  a 
heavy  fire  from  the  concealed  enemy,  compelling  them  to  fall  back  on  the  main  army, 
which  immediately  formed  in  two  lines.  General  Charles  Scott,  with  his  mounted 
volunteers,  was  directed  to  turn  the  right  flank  of  the  enemy  by  a  circuitous  move 
ment,  while  Caf  tain  Campbell,  with  the  legionary  cavalry,  effected  the  same  object 
on  the  left  flank  by  following  an  open  way  close  to  the  banks  of  the  river  and 
between  it  and  the  cliffs  of  Presque  Isle.  The  first  line  of  infantry  was  ordered  to 
advance  with  trailed  arms,  rouse  the  Indians  from  their  coverts  in  the  grass  at  the 
point  of  the  bayonet,  and  then  deliver  a  close,  well-directed  fire.  These  troops  were 
promptly  followed  by  the  second  line,  the  martial  music  of  drums  and  trumpets 
giving  animation  to  the  scene.  The  whole  of  these  movements  were  executed  with 
alacrity  and  entire  success.  The  Indians  fled  precipitately,  and  could  not  be  rallied 
by  their  leaders.  The  army  pursued  them  for  two  miles  through  the  woods,  and  the 
victory  obtained  was  complete.  Wayne  had  about  two  thousand  men  under  his 
command  in  this  contest,  not  one-half  of  whom  were  engaged.  His  loss  in  killed 
and  wounded  was  one  hundred  and  thirty-three  men.  Captain  Campbell  was  killed 
at  the  head  of  his  legion,  and  Captain  Van  Rensselaer  was  shot  through  the  body, 
but  recovered.  For  a  distance  of  two  miles  the  forest  was  strewed  with  the  dead 
bodies  of  the  enemy,  among  which  were  recognized  some  of  their  white  allies.  The 
red  men  were  denied  entrance  into  the  British  fort  at  Maumee,  the  officers  of  which 
were  compelled  to  witness  the  burning  of  the  towns  and  the  destruction  of  the  Indian 
settlements  in  the  valley.  The  houses,  stores,  and  property  of  the  British  Indian 
agent  McKee,  a  principal  stimulator  of  the  Indian  war,  were  also  destroyed.  Gen 
eral  Wayne  was  highly  incensed  against  the  garrison  of  Fort  Maumee,  and  sought  to 
give  them  cause  for  open  hostilities.  There  being  a  fine  spring  near  the  fort,  the 
conversations  at  which  could  be  overheard  011  the  ramparts,  the  general  rode  around 
the  fort  to  it  with  his  staff,  dismounted,  took  off  his  hat,  and  drank  of  the  water,  at 
the  same  time  using  expressions  of  indignation  against  the  allies  of  the  Indians,  who 


POST-REVOLUTIONARY.  305 

had  first  incited  them  to  attack  him,  and  had  then  closed  their  gates  against  them. 
Those  who  are  aware  of  the  general's  enthusiastic  character  need  not  he  told  that  he 
expressed  himself  energetically.  At  the  junction  of  the  St.  Joseph  and  St.  Mary  he 
huilt  Fort  Wayne,  completed  October  22, 1794,  which  was  well  fortified  and  strongly 
garrisoned.  The  savages  made  po  further  effort  to  oppose  the  course  of  the  victorious 
army,  which  finally,  after  laying  waste  the  corn-fields  and  villages  for  fifty  miles 
on  each  side  of  the  Maumee,  returned  to  Greenville,  where  it  went  into  winter 
quarters. 

The  ohject  for  which  the  Indians  had  fought  had  proved  to  he  illusory,  and  their 
defeat  on  the  Maumee  terminated  their  struggle  for  the  possession  of  the  country 
northwest  of  the  Ohio.  They  appear  to  have  learned  the  truth  of  this  from  their 
late  reverses,  and  in  a  short  time  thereafter  they  determined  to  bury  the  hatchet  and 
smoke  the  pipe  of  peace. 

It  had  been  the  policy  of  Washington's  administration  to  employ  force  against 
the  Indians  only  when  absolute  necessity  required  it,  and  compulsory  measures 
were  never  adopted  until  pfter  every  other  means  of  accommodating  existing  dif 
ferences  had  failed.  The  Indians  were  to  a  certain  extent  regarded  as  public  wards. 
The  assassination  of  Hardin  and  Trueman  on  the  Ohio,  with  the  olive-branch  in 
their  hands,  after  the  defeat  of  St.  Clair  and  previous  to  the  expedition  of  Wayne, 
is  evidence  of  the  insufficiency  of  this  conciliatory  policy.  Even  after  Wayne  had 
reached  Roche  du  Bout,  and  but  a  day  or  two  before  the  decisive  battle,  he  tendered 
overtures  of  peace  to  the  Indians,  of  which,  however,  it  is  affirmed  that  they  were 
kept  in  ignorance  by  foreign  agents. 

In  response  to  the  renewal  of  these  overtures  the  Indians  crowded  to  Wayne's 
camp,  at  Greenville,  during  the  summer  of  1795.  Their  necessities  during  the  pre 
ceding  winter  had  been  very  great,  in  consequence  of  the  total  destruction  of  their 
crops,  and,  as  the  English,  on  whom  they  were  dependent,  had  not  supplied  their 
wants,  they  were  in  a  starving  condition.  The  entire  area  embraced  between  the 
banks  of  the  Ohio  and  Lake  Erie,  luxuriant  with  indigenous  vegetation,  had  been 
the  scene  of  the  marching  and  countermarching  of  war-parties  and  armies  from  the 
period  of  the  conclusion  of  the  ssham  treaty  made  with  Lord  Dunmore  in  1774, 
and  the  no  less  unreliable  one  signed  at  Fort  Mclntosh  in  1785,  but  during  the  five 
years  which  had  just  closed  it  had  been  almost  constantly  trodden  by  hostile  feet 
The  bitter  chalice  which  they  had  so  long  held  to  the  lips  of  the  people  of  Ken 
tucky,  Pennsylvania,  and  Virginia  was  now  being  drained  by  themselves.  After  the 
demonstration  at  the  Maumee  Rapids  they  fled  to  their  wintering-grounds  in  the 
extensive  forests  of  Lake  Erie,  Michigan,  and  Canada,  The  local  foreign  traders  of 
these  precincts,  the  commandants  of  posts,  who  had  counselled  them  to  war,  could  no 
longer  be  regarded  by  them  as  oracles.  The  Indians  had  been  unable  to  keep  the 
whites  east  of  the  Ohio ;  nay,  it  began  to  be  perceived  by  these  subtle  sons  of  the 
forest  that  the  white  race  could  not  be  confined  within  the  limits  fixed  by  the  treaty 
of  Versailles.  During  the  winter  and  spring  they  exchanged  prisoners  and  prepared 

to  treat  upon  preliminaries,  which  were  agreed  upon  in  January.    Before  the  month 

ii — 39 


306  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

of  July  arrived,  the  savage,  with  altered  feelings,  e  tered  on  the  forest- paths  that  led 
to  Greenville,  where  the  American  chief  was  seated,  surrounded  by  all  the  panoply 
of  war,  with  the  emblems  of  peace  intermingled. 

Foremost  among  the  tribes  who  turned  their  steps  to  his  camp  were  the  proud 
and  influential  Wyandots,  who  had  so  long  been  regarded  as  wise  men  and  umpires 
among  the  tribes  of  the  West.  Driven  from  the  St  Lawrence  Valley  in  1659  by 
the  Iroquois,  they  had  for  a  century  and  a  half  held  a  high  position  in  the  West, 
sustained  a  part  of  the  time  by  France,  their  earliest  and  most  constant  friend,  and, 
after  the  conquest  of  Canada,  by  the  English.  They  were  astute,  reflective,  and 
capable  of  pursuing  a  steady  line  of  policy,  which  had  been,  with  some  lapses,  the 
stay  of  those  Western  tribes  who  were  willing  to  tread  in  their  footsteps.  This  tribe 
was  the  last  to  assent  to  the  scheme  of  Pontiac,  and  when  the  confederation  was 
broken  up  by  Great  Britain  they  adhered  to  that  power  with  extraordinary  devotion. 

In  their  train  followed  the  Delawares,  who  had  been,  since  the  time  they  first 
fled  from  Pennsylvania  and  crossed  the  Alleghanies,  bitter  enemies  of  the  settlers  in 
the  West.  Thither  also  came  the  Shawnees,  the  most  vengeful  and  subtle  of  all 
the  Western  tribes.  Every  day  witnessed  the  arrival  in  the  surrounding  forests  of 
delegates,  decked  with  all  their  peculiar  ornaments  of  feathers,  paint,  silver  gorgets, 
trinkets,  and  medals.  The  Chippewas,  Ottawas,  Pottawatomies,  Miami*,  Weas, 
Kickapoos,  Piaukeshaws,  and  Kaskaskias  were  all  present.  The  entire  official  power 
of  the  Algonkins  was  on  the  ground.  Each  delegation  carried  the  pipe  of  peace 
and  expressed  pacific  desires.  The  whole  camp  presented  a  gorgeous  display  of 
savage  magnificence,  and  for  the  number  and  variety  of  costumes  the  scene  has 
probably  never  since  been  equalled  in  America.  All  came  bending  to  Wayne,  who 
on  the  16th  of  June  met  them  in  council. 

A  treaty  was  signed  on  the  3d  of  August,  which  constitutes  the  first  example  of  a 
thoroughly  reliable  treaty-stipulation  of  any  great  importance  in  the  history  of  the 
Indians.  The  draft  of  this  treaty,  perhaps  the  most  important  ever  made  between 
the  red  men  and  the  Americans,  sent  to  General  Wayne  from  the  War  Department, 
was  drawn  up  under  the'  supervision  of  AVashington,  and  appears  to  have  been  full 
and  elaborate.  It  established  the  system  of  boundaries  and  reservations  and  in 
troduced  the  fundamental  regulations  as  to  trade  and  intercourse  with  the  tribes 
which  have  been  embodied  in  all  subsequent  treaties.  A  donation  of  twenty  thou 
sand  dollars  in  goods,  and  a  permanent  annuity  of  nine  thousand  dollars,  payable  in 
merchandise  at  invoice  prices,  to  be  divided  pro  rata  among  the  different  nations, 
were  granted  to  the  Indians. 

Having  traced  the  negotiation  of  treaties  from  their  first  inception  under  the 
American  government  to  this  important  period,  when  the  Indians  buried  the  hatchet, 
it  will  not  be  necessary  to  pursue  the  subject  further.  Subsequent  negotiations  with 
the  tribes  are  connected  with  a  lengthy  detail  of  dates,  names,  and  figures,  which  are 
readily  accessible  in  the  volumes  containing  the  treaties  between  the  United  States 
and  the  Indians.  The  treaty  of  Greenville  forms  a  definite  era  in  the  Indian  history 
from  which  the  tribes  may  be  viewed.  Both  parties  regarded  this  peace  as  a  final 


POST-REYOLUTIONARY.  307 

conclusion  of  the  aboriginal  war  which,  following  the  close  of  the  Revolution,  had 
spread,  as  it  were,  a  bloody  mantle  not  only  over  the  Ohio  Valley,  but  over  the  entire 
region  to  the  northwest  of  it.  The  position  attained  by  the  United  States  through 
this  treaty  had  been  the  result  of  at  least  a  decade  of  years,  characterized  by  ware 
and  negotiations,  in  which  the  sword  and  the  olive-branch  had  either  failed  of  effect 
or  produced  only  temporary  results ;  and  the  length  of  time  the  treaty  was  observed 
by  the  aborigines  ip  in  part  attributable  to  the  full  assent  it  received  from  the  united  . 
judgment  of  the  principal  chiefs  of  all  the  leading  tribes  who  were  parties  to  it.  On  I 
the  part  of  the  Wyandots  it  received  the  signature  of  the  venerated  Tarhe,  or  the  \ 
Crane ;  on  tha',  }f  the  Delawares,  it  was  subscribed  to  by  the  gifted  Bukongehelas ; 
the  Shawnecs  assented  to  it  through  the  venerable  Cutthewekasaw,  or  Black  Hoof, 
and  Weyapir rsenwaw,  or  Bluejacket;  Topinabi,  or  Thupenebu,  signed  it  for  the 
Pottawatomles,  and  for  the  Miamis  it  was  signed  by  Meshekunnoghquoh,  or  the  cel 
ebrated  Little  Turtle, — the  latter  of  whom,  with  the  Shawnee  chief  Blue  Jacket,  had 
Ix.-en  the  marshal  or  leader  of  the  Indians  at  the  final  battle  on  the  Maumee.  As 
long  ?s  these  chiefs,  the  last  of  the  forest-kings,  lived,  this  peace  was  observed. 

The  lake  posts  were  surrendered  by  the  British  in  1796,  and  American  garrisons 
replaced  those  of  the  English  at  Niagara,  Presque  Isle,  Maumee,  Detroit,  Michili- 
mackinac,  and  Green  Bay.  The  Indians,  who  are  quick  at  recognizing  the  nation 
ality  of  a  flag,  began  to  accommodate  their  visits  and  addresses  to  this  new  state  of 
affairs.  The  government  also  sought  as  much  as  possible  to  divert  the  Indian  trade 
from  foreign  hands  into  those  of  the  Americans ;  but  this  was  a  difficult  matter,  and 
it  required  time  to  effect  it  Along  the  Georgia  and  Carolina  borders  this  trade  had 
been  concentrated  in  the  hands  of,  and  continued  to  be  carried  on  principally  by^ 
enterprising  and  talented  Scotchmen,  who  intermarried  with  the  Indians.  The  most 
noted  of  these  were  Mclntosh,  McGillivray,  Ross,  and  Weatherford,  the  latter  some 
what  better  known  as  the  Black  Warrior  of  1814.  Throughout  Louisiana,  in  all  its 
amplitude  of  extension  north  and  west,  the  French  exercised  the  controlling  influ 
ence  ;  and  this  was  especially  the  case  in  the  territory  now  constituting  the  States  of 
Arkansas,  Tennessee,  Missouri,  Illinois,  Indiana,  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  and  Iowa. 
In  the  basins  of  the  upper  lakes,  and  at  the  sources  of  the  Mississippi  River,  British 
and  Scotch  factors  for  many  years  controlled  the  trade  and  influenced  the  tribes. 


•    •  .    .....    -    •     •          •  -          .         •  -    • 

'  •   '..-.•'•.'  .     • 


. 

.    -.ft  :   '   '.       '    ..• 

'CHAPTER   IIL 

•    .  -.•     ..  • 

EXPLORATIONS  OP  LEWIS  AND  CLARKE—  LIEUTENANT  PIKE—  ELEMENTS  OF 
DISCORD—  TKCUMSEH  AND  THE  PROPHET  ORGANIZE  THE  TRIBES  FOR  A 
CONFLICT  WITH  THE  UNITED  STATES—  BATTLE  OF  TIPPECANOE. 

MR.  JEFFERSON,  on  being  called  to  occupy  the  Presidential  chair  in  1801,  felt 
the  importance  of  the  claim  which  the  existing  state  of  the  Indian  tribes  had  upon 
his  attention,  and  his  views  were  of  the  most  comprehensive  character.  To  him  we 
owe  the  passage  of  the  fundamental  act  to  preserve  peace  on  the  frontiers  and  regulate 
intercourse  with  the  Indian  tribes.  By  this  act  the  boundaries  of  the  Indian  country 
and  the  operations  of  the  laws  in  it  are  clearly  defined.  Regulations  are  established 
for  the  government  of  the  Indian  trade.  The  territory  of  the  tribes  is  protected 
from  depredations  by  the  whites,  who  are  permitted  to  visit  it  for  no  other  purpose 
than  trade  or  mere  transit  through  it.  The  jurisdiction  of  courts  is  established,  and 
the  methods  of  proceeding  are  particularly  pointed  out  In  fine,  a  system  of  policy  is 
laid  down  calculated  to  advance  the  prosperity  of  the  Indians  and  at  the  same  time 
to  secure  the  speedy  settlement  of  the  Western  lands. 

The  act  establishing  the  Northwest  Territory  was  the  first  step  towards  the  in 
duction  of  this  practical  mode  of  teaching  among  the  Indians,  —  teaching  by  example. 
However  slight  the  effect  of  its  lessons  may  have  been  on  the  remote  tribes  and 
bands,  they  were  not  wholly  inoperative  even  there,  while  at  points  within  the  civil 
jurisdiction  they  carried  with  them  a  monition  which  caused  them  to  be  obeyed. 

The  commonwealth  of  Ohio  was  the  first  organization  of  the  kind  in  the  West, 
and  the  extension  of  State  sovereignty  west  of  the  Ohio  River  insured  to  that  area 
an  expansion  which  has  had  few  parallels  in  history.  While  Ohio  heralded  to  the 
Western  tribes  the  rule  of  government  and  law,  Louisiana,  by  a  wise  forecast  of 
executive  policy,  came  in  at  this  critical  time  to  confirm  and  greatly  extend  the 
system.  In  fifty  years  the  limits  of  the  Union  had  reached  the  shores  of  the  Pacific 
Ocean.  Neither  men  nor  States  practise  what  is  not  conceived  to  be  best  suited  to 
promote  their  prosperity.  By  offering  to  the  Indians  the  protection  of  the  laws  and 
the  benefits  of  intercourse  with  civilized  society,  the  highest  assurances  were  given 
that  we  were  sincere  and  sought  only  to  advance  them  in  the  scale  of  knowledge 
and  happiness.  But,  as  the  Indian  is  an  extraordinarily  suspicious  being,  the  good 
faith  of  this  offer  has  ever  been  doubted  by  him,  and  some  sinister  purpose  has  been 
supposed  to  be  concealed. 

To  ascertain  the  character  and  extent  of  Louisiana,  and  the  numbers  of  the 
Indian  tribes  within  its  area,  Mr.  Jefferson  despatched  expeditions  up  the  Missouri 

and  Mississippi.     The  first  was  led  by  Merriwether  Lewis  and  William  Clarke,  cap- 

303 


(S     . 


. 

. 

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. 


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l4^^  %V 

*'  '   ^ 


POST-REVOLUTIONARY.  309 

tains  in  the  army,  both  of  whom  were  commissioned  for  that  purpose.     They  left  St. 
Louis  May  14, 1804,  and  ascended  the  Missouri  through  the  territories  of  the  Osages, 
Kansas,  Otocs,  and  Sioux  to  that  of  the  Mandans,  where  they  wintered.     The  fol 
lowing  year  they  continued  their  route  through  the  countries  of  the  Teton  Sioux, 
Crows,  and  Blackfeet  to  the  source  of  the  Missouri,  in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and, 
crossing  this  range,  they  followed  the  course  of  the  Columbia  to  the  point  where  it 
flows  into  the  Pacific.     Retracing  their  steps  from  this  remote  position,  they  descended 
the  Missouri  to  St.  Louis,  where  they  landed  September  23, 1806.     This  was  the  first 
important  exploratory  expedition  sent  out  by  the  government,  and  its  results,  while 
they  evinced  the  great  personal  intrepidity  of  the  explorers,  were  suited  to  convey 
an  exalted  opinion  of  the  value  and  resources  of  this  newly-acquired  section  of  the 
Union.     It  was  found  to  be  a  difficult  task  to  enumerate  the  Indian  population  of 
the  Columbia  Valley,  owing  to  the  confusion  of  synonymes  and  other  causes ;  conse 
quently  overestimates  were  inevitable.    The  aboriginal  population  was  rated  at  eighty 
thousand,  and  the  distance  travelled,  from  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri  to  that  of  the 
Columbia,  on  the  Pacific,  is  estimated  at  three  thousand  five  hundred  and  fifty-five 
miles.     The  observations  made  by  Mr.  Lewis  on  the  Indian  trade  disclosed  gross 
irregularities,  which  were  directly  traceable  to  the  era  of  Spanish  rule,  and  such 
modifications  were  suggested  as  would  tend  to  place  the  natives  in  a  better  position. 
The  amount  of  information  obtained  by  the  officers  of  this  expedition  constituted  a 
valuable  addition  to  our  knowledge  of  the  Indians  and  their  country;   and  the 
observations  of  General  William  Clarke,  joined  to  his  acquired  experience,  admirably 
qualified  him  for  the  duties  of  the  office  to  which  he  was  in  after-time  appointed, — 
that  of  Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs  at  St.  Louis,  on  this  frontier. 

At  the  same  period  Lieutenant  Z.  M.  Pike,  U.S.A.,  was  commissioned  to  explore 
the  sources  of  the  Mississippi.  He  started  from  St.  Louis  with  his  expedition  on 
August  5, 1805,  and,  according  to  his  own  estimate,  reached  a  point  two  hundred  and 
thirty-three  miles  above  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony,  where  the  accumulated  snow  and 
ice  prevented  his  farther  progress  by  water.  He  then  proceeded  on  snow-shoes  to 
Sandy  Lake,  and  was  thence  drawn  by  teams  of  dogs  to  Leech  Lake,  the  largest 
southerly  source  of  the  Mississippi  River.  Commerce  with  the  Indians  was  found  to 
be  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  British  traders,  who  wielded  an  influence  adverse  to 
the  institutions  of  the  United  States.  Early  in  the  spring  of  1806,  Lieutenant  Pike 
descended  the  Mississippi  River,  arriving  at  his  point  of  departure  on  the  30th  of 
April.  His  estimates  of  the  Indian  population  of  the  Upper  Mississippi  give  a  total 
of  eleven  thousand  one  hundred  and  seventy-seven  souls,  including  Chippewas, 
Sacs,  Foxes,  lowas,  Winnebagoes,  Menomonies,  and  the  various  scattered  bands  of 
Dakotas,  called  Yanktons,  Sissetons,  and  Tetons. 

A  considerable  addition  was  thus  made  to  our  knowledge  of  the  character  and 
habits  of  the  extreme  Western  and  Northern  Indians,  and  the  duties  of  the  Indian 
Department  were  thereby  greatly  increased.  The  State  of  Ohio  was  admitted  into 
the  Union  in  1803,  at  which  period  the  Territory  of  Indiana  was  organized,  and 
General  William  Henry  Harrison  appointed  its  Governor,  as  well  as,  ex  o$eio,  Super- 


310  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

intendent  of  Indian  Affairs.  Harrison  had  served  as  an  aide  to  General  Wayne  in 
his  Indian  campaigns,  and  entered  upon  the  duties  of  his  office  with  the  additional 
experience  acquired  under  this  redoubtable  chief,  his  skill  in  military  tactics  being 
fully  equalled  by  his  knowledge  of  the  aboriginal  character,  which,  combined  with 
his  address  and  activity,  soon  made  him  respected  as  a  plenipotentiary  at  their 
council-fires.  For  many  years  he  shared  with  General  Clarke,  of  St.  Louis,  the 
onerous  and  responsible  duty  of  preserving  peace  on  the  frontiers. 

Two  or  three  elements  of  discord  had  existed  in  the  Indian  communities  located 
along  the  frontiers  from  the  outbreak  of  the  Revolution,  which  were  not  extinguished 
by  its  successful  termination,  and  still  smouldered  after  the  close  of  the  Indian  war 
in  1795.  Among  these  was  the  preference  of  the  Western  tribes  for  the  British 
nation,  arising,  perhaps,  from  the  conquest  of  Canada,  but  kept  up  by  political  falla 
cies.  England  had  secured  the  good  will  of  the  French  residents,  in  whose  hands 
the  important  commerce  with  the  Indians  was  concentrated  and  still  remained. 
The  possession  of  the  Indian  trade  has  ever  exercised  a  controlling  influence  on 
the  policy  of  the  Indians,  which  is  wielded  not  by  ministers  plenipotentiary  or  high 
•secretaries  of  state,  but  by  the  little  local  traders  on  the  frontiers,  petty  clerks, 
interpreters  employed  by  commercial  houses,  and  coureurs  du  bois,  who  never  fail  to 
make  their  principles  square  with  their  interests ;  and  it  is  a  matter  of  little  moment 
to  the  limited  ambition  of  this  class  who  influence  the  destinies  of  courts  or  of 
nations,  provided  they  be  permitted  to  control  the  traffic  in  beaver-skins. 

While  the  French  held  Louisiana,  no  counter-interests  disturbed  the  harmony  of 
their  intercourse  with  the  natives;  but  when  the  government  was  vested  in  the 
Spanish  crown  the  rival  interests  of  the  Spanish  and  French  merchants  had  produced 
discord  between  their  subordinates,  which  extended  also  to  the  Indians.  The  cession 
of  Louisiana  to  the  United  States  calmed  these  troubles,  all  differences  were  forgotten, 
and  the  contending  parties  readily  accommodated  themselves  to  the  American  system. 
But  in  Florida  there  was  never  the  least  abatement  in  this  strife  for  commercial 
supremacy,  the  thirst  for  gain  acknowledging  no  nationality.  On  the  contrary, 
during  the  short  period  when  Florida  was  held  by  the  British  crown,  a  new  feature 
was  developed  in  the  character  of  the  Indian  trade,  which  imparted  to  it  additional 
vigor  and  system.  We  have  in  a  preceding  page  alluded  to  this  fact,  which  was  the 
introduction  of  the  Scottish  element  among  the  aboriginal  population.  One  of  its 
most  important  results  was  the  intermarriage  of  the  Scotch  traders  with  the  native 
females,  which  gave  a  permanent  character  to  their  influence  and  had  a  beneficial 
ethnological  effect  on  the  chiefs  and  ruling  families  of  the  native  race.  While  the 
Galphins,  the  Millidges,  and  their  compeers  reaped  the  harvest  of  trade,  the  Mc- 
Intoshes,  the  McGillivrays,  and  other  chiefs  of  their  race,  by  infusing  their  blood 
into  the  aboriginal  current,  gave  to  the  Creeks,  Cherokees,  Chickasaws,  Choctaws,  and 
Seminoles  a  higher  social  and  national  character.  The  fact  that  this  intermixture 
of  the  races  was  coincident  with  the  employment  of  African  slave  labor  by  the  higher 
Indian  class  was  merely  incidental.  The  negroes  fled  into  the  Indian  territory  to 
escape  servitude  in  the  Southern  States,  and  voluntarily  assumed  the  performance 


POST-&EVOLUTIONARY.  311 

of  labor  as  an  equivalent  for  the  shelter,  support,  and  comparative  ease  and  enjoy 
ment  Indian  life  afforded  them. 

Along  the  entire  northern  borders,  southward  to  the  line  of  demarcation  desig 
nated  by  the  treaty  of  Versailles,  and  throughout  Michigan,  Indiana,  and  Illinois,  as 
well  as  the  present  areas  of  Wisconsin,  Iowa,  and  Minnesota,  British  capital  and 
enterprise  were  the  great  basis  and  stimulus  of  the  Indian  traffic.  The  limits  of  this 
trade  had  receded  very  far  to  the  northwest  after  the  victories  of  Wayne :  Maumee, 
Vinccnnes,  Kaskaskia,  Detroit,  and  Michilimackincc  no  longer  formed  centres  for 
the  trade.  There  had  been,  up  to  the  commencement  of  Mr.  Madison's  adminis 
tration,  no  public  effort  made  to  prevent  foreigners  from  pursuing  their  traffic  with 
the  Indians  north  of  the  shores  of  Lakes  Huron  and  Michigan.  One  of  the  peculiar 
characteristics  of  the  Indians  is  that  they  are  wont  to  give  their  attention  to  the 
lowest  order  of  counsellors,  not  because  of  any  preference  they  have  for  an  inferior 
grade  of  intellect,  but  from  a  natural  suspicion  that  persons  in  higher  positions  are 
always  governed  by  sinister  motives ;  and  suggestions  from  these  subordinate  sources 
would  appear  sometimes  to  be  invested  with  importance  in  the  precise  ratio  that  they 
are  removed  from  plausibility  or  truth.  Whoever  has,  cither  as  a  plenipotentiary  or 
a  commissioner,  passed  through  the  ordeal  of  an  Indian  council  controlled  by  the 
diverse  interests  of  the  trade  and  of  the  half-breed  relations  and  prottgcs  of  the 
tribes  will  appreciate  the  force  of  this  remark. 

For  years  after  the  treaty  of  Greenville,  few  difficulties  occurred  with  the  Indians. 
But  as  settlements  extended  and  encroached  upon  their  domain,  it  was  deemed 
necessary  to  renew  our  treaty  relations  with  them.  Between  1803  and  1809  six 
treaties,  all  of  them  for  cessions  of  land,  were  made,  and  Wayne's  treaty  of  1795, 
with  all  its  excellent  provisions  for  the  government  and  protection  of  the  Indian, 
was  substantially  obliterated,  vast  bodies  of  the  land  assured  by  it  to  the  Indian 
nations  being  transferred  to  the  white  man  and  the  original  proprietors  dispossessed. 
As  cession  after  cession  of  land  was  obtained  from  the  Indians  by  this  almost  con 
stant  process  of  treaty-making,  Tecumseh  and  his  brother,  the  Prophet,  as  well  as 
other  leading  Indians,  became  alarmed,  and  set  about  reviving  the  confederacy  and 
forming  a  union  of  the  tribes  to  prevent  further  cessions  as  well  as  settlements  on  their 
lands.  Tecumseh  protested  strenuously  against  the  cession  of  the  Wabash  lands  at 
Fort  Wayne  in  1809,  justly  insisting  upon  the  recognition  of  the  principle  that  no 
cession  could  be  valid  unless  sanctioned  by  a  council  representing  all  the  tribes  which 
were  parties  to  the  Wayne  treaty  of  1795  as  one  nation.  Though  the  Shawnees 
were  specially  interested  in  these  Wabash  lands,  not  a  Shawnee  signed  the  treaty. 
While  disclaiming  any  intention  of  making  war  on  the  United  States,  he  declared  it 
to  be  his  unalterable  resolution  to  oppose  any  further  incursions  of  the  whites  upon 
the  territory  of  the  Indiana. 

Conspicuous  among  the  heroic  names  of  the  century  stands  that  of  the  Indian 
chief  Tecumseh.  For  years  he  labored  with  enthusiasm  upon  a  grand,  arduous,  and 
unselfish  project,  enlisting  in  it  by  his  personal  magnetism  great  multitudes  of  various 
tribes,  contending  for  it  with  unflinching  valor  long  after  there  had  ceased  to  be  a  hope 


312  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

of  success,  and  finally  dying  fighting  for  it  to  the  last,  falling  with  his  face  to  the 
enemy  and  covered  with  wounds.  His  parents  had  emigrated  from  the  Tallapoosa 
region  in  Alabama  about  the  middle  of  the  last  century  to  the  valley  of  the  Miami, 
and  there  Tecumseh  was  born,  near  Springfield,  Ohio,  about  the  year  1770.  He  gave 
evidences  of  the  possession  of  a  superior  nature  when,  at  the  age  of  sixteen,  he  first 
saw  a  prisoner  burnt.  He  expressed  his  detestation  of  the  act  in  such  powerful  terms 
that  the  party  resolved  never  to  burn  another  prisoner.  In  a  fight  with  some  Ken- 
tuckians  on  Mad  River,  when  he  was  twenty,  he  is  said  to  have  run  at  the  first  fire ; 
yet  in  the  wars  ending  with  Wayne's  victory,  in  1795,  he  had  certainly  won  distinc 
tion.  He  surpassed  his  tribe  in  the  arts  and  feats  which  Indians  honor,  winning 
renown  as  orator,  hunter,  and  ball-player.  His  skill  in  hunting  is  attested  by  the 
story  that  in  a  contest  with  the  best  hunters  of  the  tribe  he  returned  at  the  end  of 
three  days  with  thirty  deer-skins,  while  none  of  his  competitors  brought  in  more  than 
twelve.  He  was  well  educated,  could  read  and  write,  and  had  a  confidential  secretary 
and  adviser  named  Billy  Caldwell,  a  half-breed,  who  was  afterwards  head  chief  of  the 
Pottawatomies.  It  was  the  sale  of  the  favorite  hunting-ground  on  the  Wabash  that 
gave  Tecumseh  such  deep  offence  and  led  to  the  conception  of  his  great  design.  He 
proclaimed  the  great  principle  that  no  single  tribe  could  rightfully  sell  any  portion 
of  the  lands  which,  as  he  claimed,  belonged  to  the  red  men  as  a  common  possession. 
"  The  Great  Spirit,"  said  he  to  General  Harrison,  "  gave  this  great  island  to  his  red 
children.  He  placed  the  whites  on  the  other  side  of  the  big  water ;  they  were  not 
contented  with  their  own,  but  came  to  take  ours  from  us.  They  have  driven  us  from 
the  sea  to  the  lakes ;  we  can  go  no  farther.  They  have  taken  upon  them  to  say  this 
tract  belongs  to  the  Miamis,  this  to  the  Delawares,  and  so  on ;  but  the  Great  Spirit 
intended  it  as  the  common  property  of  all.  Our  father  tells  us  that  we  have  no 
business  on  the  Wabash,  that  the  land  belongs  to  other  tribes ;  but  the  Great  Spirit 
ordered  us  to  come  here,  and  here  we  will  stay." 

General  Harrison  could  not  recede,  Tecumseh  would  not.  The  utmost  the  gen 
eral  could  do  was  to  refer  the  dispute  to  the  President.  "  Well,"  said  Tecumseh,  "  as 
the  Great  Chief  is  to  determine  the  matter,  I  hope  the  Great  Spirit  will  put  sense 
enough  into  his  head  to  induce  him  to  give  up  this  land ;  it  is  true  he  is  so  far  off  he 
will  not  be  injured  by  the  war;  he  may  sit  still  in  his  town  and  drink  his  wine, 
while  you  and  I  will  have  to  fight  it  out !"  His  words  were  prophetic. 

For  four  years  Tecumseh  devoted  himself  to  the  task  of  preparing  the  tribes  for 
a  general  war.  In  this  work,  while  displaying  eloquence  of  the  highest  character  in 
descanting  upon  the  Indian's  wrongs  and  the  white  man's  encroachments,  he  acquired 
an  astonishing  ascendency  over  the  savage  mind.  General  Harrison,  who  was  long 
his  adviser  and  ultimately  was  his  conqueror,  spoke  of  him  as  "  one  of  those  uncom 
mon  geniuses  who,  but  for  the  proximity  of  the  United  States,  might  have  founded 
an  empire  that  would  have  rivalled  in  glory  Mexico  or  Peru.  He  is  constantly  in 
motion.  You  see  him  to-day  on  the  Wabash,  and  in  a  short  time  hear  of  him  on 
the  shores  of  Lake  Erie  or  Michigan,  or  on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi,  and 
wherever  he  goes  he  makes  an  impression  favorable  to  his  purpose,"  His  plan  was 


POST-REVOLUTIOXARY.  313 

to  surprise  and  capture  Forts  Detroit,  Wayne,  Chicago,  St.  Louis,  Vincennes,  and 
the  adjacent  American  posts,  and  to  unite  all  the  tribes  east  of  the  Mississippi. 

In  the  spring  of  1811,  Tecumseh,  leaving  his  affairs  in  the  hands  of  his  brother 
the  Prophet,  went  to  the  South,  preaching  his  crusade  and  sowing  the  seeds  of  future 
wars  in  Florida  among  the  Seminoles,  in  Georgia  and  Alabama,  among  the  powerful 
Creeks  and  Cherokees,  and  in  Missouri  among  the  tribes  of  the  Des  Moines,  holding 
the  war-council  and  delivering  his  impassioned  "  talk."  He  returned  in  November, 
1811,  only  to  learn  that  his  brother,  disregarding  his  own  prudent  counsels,  and 
puffed  up  with  self-importance,  had  rashly  attacked  Harrison's  army  and  met  with 
the  disastrous  defeat  of  Tippecanoe. 

The  prestige  of  the  Prophet,  who  had  promised  certain  victory,  was  gone  forever 
among  the  Northern  Indians.  Tecumseh's  chosen  warriors,  the  nucleus  of  the  great 
army  he  had  hoped  to  lead,  were  killed  or  dispersed.  An  opening  was,  however, 
unexpectedly  afforded  him  by  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  between  Great  Britain 
and  the  United  States.  In  a  few  days  he  was  in  the  field.  His  scheme  of  uniting 
the  tribes  was  at  once  adopted  as  a  part  of  the  system  of  carrying  on  the  war  by  the 
British  generals,  who  took  him  into  high  favor,  and  who  testify  in  strong  language 
to  his  quick  intelligence,  his  military  abilities,  and  his  high  courage.  A  commis 
sion  as  brigadier-general  was  given  him  in  the  British  army.  The  first  blood  shed 
in  the  war  was  shed  through  him,  and  the  first  advantage  gained  by  the  British 
was  due  to  his  assistance.  Such  were  his  zeal  and  activity,  and  such  his  knowledge 
of  Indian  nature,  that  the  news  of  our  disasters  in  Canada  was  whispered  among  the 
Creeks  in  Alabama  before  they  had  been  heard  of  by  the  white  settlers.  He  was 
present  at  the  siege  of  Fort  Meigs,  and  at  the  second  assault  he  headed  two  thousand 
warriors.  The  fall  of  1812  again  found  Tecumseh,  accompanied  by  the  Prophet  and 
a  retinue  of  thirty  warriors,  haranguing  the  Creeks  in  the  midnight  council,  and  this 
time  with  prodigious  effect.  Now  he  could  point  to  the  successes  of  the  British  in 
the  North,  now  he  could  give  certain  promises  of  assistance  from  the  English  and 
from  the  Spanish  in  Florida,  and  now  he  spoke  with  the  authority  of  a  British  agent 
and  officer. 

As  we  have  already  seen,  considerable  influence  had  been  at  this  period  attained 
by  the  Shawnee  prophet  Elkswattawa  over  the  entire  body  of  tribes.  This  person, 
though  belonging  to  the  reservation  of  his  tribe  at  Wappecanotta,  had  located  his 
residence  principally  on  the  Wabash,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  mouth  of  the  Tippecanoe 
River,  which  became  the  centre  of  his  power,  and  whence  emanated  his  oracular 
revelations.  By  the  recital  and  interpretation  of  dreams,  by  fasting,  and  by  an 
assumed  indifference  to  all  worldly  considerations  and  rewards,  he  had  attained  a 
high  position  and  influence.  Elkswattawa  had  lost  one  eye,  which  defect  he  concealed 
by  wearing  a  black  veil  or  handkerchief  over  the  disfigured  organ.  He  affected  great 
sanctity,  did  not  engage  in  the  secular  duties  of  war  or  hunting. -was  seldom  seen  in 
public,  devoted  most  of  his  time  to  fasting,  the  interpretation  of  dreams,  and  offering 
sacrifices  to  spiritual  powers,  pretended  to  see  into  futurity  and  to  foretell  events, 
and  announced  himself  to  be  the  mouth-piece  of  God.  The  Indians  flocked  to  him 

11—40 


314  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

from  every  quarter ;  there  was  no  name  that  carried  such  weight  as  his.  They  never 
ceased  talking  of  his  power  or  expatiating  on  the  miracles  he  wrought ;  and  the 
more  extraordinary  the  revelations  he  made,  the  more  readily  were  they  believed  and 
confided  in.  He  combined  a  remarkably  clear  conception  of  the  Indian  character 
with  great  shrewdness  and  astuteness.  It  being  essential  to  his  purposes  that  he  who 
was  the  concentrated  wisdom  of  the  Indian  race  should  have  no  rival,  the  minor 
priests  and  powwows  became  but  the  retailers  of  his  words  and  prophecies ;  and 
when  one  was  found  who  disputed  his  authority  or  resisted  his  power  he  did  not 
proceed  against  him  in  a  direct  manner,  but  insidiously  operated  upon  the  supersti 
tions  of  the  Indian  mind.  In  this  way  he  disposed  of  Tarhe,  the  venerable  sachem 
of  the  "Wyandots,  who,  being  accused  of  witchcraft,  was  condemned  to  be  burned  at 
the  stake.  The  very  knowledge  that  he  possessed  such  an  indomitable  will  increased 
the  fear  and  respect  entertained  for  him  by  the  Indians, — a  respect  which  was,  how 
ever,  based  on  an  implicit  belief  in  his  miraculous  gifts.  It  has  been  mentioned  that 
the  Prophet  was  not  a  warrior ;  his  whole  object  was  to  employ  his  power  in  further 
ance  of  the  projects  of  his  brother  Tecumseh.  As  early  as  1807  the  Shawnee  chief 
tain  and  his  brother  were  actively  engaged  in  sending  their  deputies  with  large 
presents  and  bloody  war-belts  to  the  most  distant  nations  to  persuade  them  to  come 
into  the  league,  and  when  the  comet  appeared  in  1811  the  Prophet  artfully  turned 
it  to  account  by  practising  on  the  superstitions  of  the  savages. 

There  was  a  higher  purpose  concealed  under  these  manifestations  of  Elkswattawa. 
He  told  the  Indians  that  their  pristine  state,  antecedent  to  the  arrival  of  the 
Europeans,  was  most  agreeable  to  the  Great  Spirit,  and  that  they  had  adopted  too 
many  of  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  whites.  He  counselled  them  to  return  to 
their  primeval  simple  condition,  to  throw  away  their  flints  and  steels,  and  to  resort 
to  their  original  mode  of  obtaining  fire  by  percussion.  He  denounced  woollen 
stuffs  as  not  equal  to  skins  for  clothing;  he  commended  the  use  of  the  bow  and 
arrow.  Above  all,  they  should  discard  the  white  man's  whiskey.  These  maxims  he 
enforced  by  various  ingenious  tales.  He  said,  for  example,  that  he  himself  had 
formerly  been  a  great  drunkard,  but  on  visiting,  as  prophets  may  do,  the  abode  of 
the  devil,  he  observed  that  those  who  died  drunkards  were  all  there,  with  flames  of 
fire  issuing  from  their  mouths,  and  that,  alarmed  at  the  sight,  he  had  reformed,  and 
now  called  oh  all  Indians  to  follow  his  example.  To  a  surprising  extent  the  Indians 
obeyed  his  directions.  Like  Pontiac,  who,  however,  had  made  no  pretensions  to 
priestly  power,  he  professed  a  profound  respect  for  the  ancient  manners  and  customs 
of  the  Indians.  Perhaps  he  was  influenced  thereto  by  his  knowledge,  derived  from 
tradition,  of  the  potency  of  this  argument  as  made  use  of  by  that  renowned  chief, 
though  it  is  very  likely  that  the  idea  originated  with  himself.  Fifty  years  only  had 
passed  since  the  era  of  Pontiac,  and  young  men  who  had  been  engaged  in  that  bold 
attempt  to  resist  British  power  might  yet  be  on  the  stage  of  action.  Now,  however, 
the  real  purpose  was  not  to  resist  the  British  power,  but  to  invite  its  co-operation. 
This  was  the  secret  of  his  actions.  This  was  the  argument  used  by  the  subordinate 
emissaries  of  the  Indian  trading  agencies  located  in  Canada  who  visited  the  Wabash, 


POST-REVOLUTIONARY.  315 

the  Scioto,  the  Illinois,  and  the  Upper  Mississippi.  In  the  course  of  a  few  years  the 
doctrines  of  Elkswattawa  had  spread  among  the  tribes  in  the  valley  of  the  Missouri, 
over  those  located  on  the  most  distant  shores  of  Lake  Superior,  and  throughout  all 
the  Appalachian  tribes  of  the  South.  They  were  as  current  on  the  Ocmulgcc,  the 
Chattahoochcc,  and  the  Alabama  as  they  were  on  the  Wabaah  and  the  Miami.  Elk- 
swattawa  was  himself  a  half-Creek. 

The  speeches  of  the  Indians  in  their  assemblages  had  for  some  time  savored  of 
these  counsels,  and  the  name  of  the  Shawnee  prophet  was  known  and  the  influence 
of  his  teaching  disseminated  throughout  the  country.  In  1811  the  congregation  of 
large  masses  of  Indians  around  the  residence  of  this  oracular  personage,  on  the  banks 
of  the  upper  part  of  the  Wabash,  created  considerable  alarm,  and  General  Harrison, 
who  had  closely  watched  this  secret  movement,  reported  it  to  the  government,  by 
which  he  was  authorized  to  march  a  military  force  from  Vincennes  up  the  Wabash. 
This  army,  comprising  one  regiment  of  regular  infantry,  an  auxiliary  body  of 
mounted  Kentucky  volunteers,  and  also  volunteer  militia  from  other  Western  States, 
left  Vincennes  in  October,  1811,  and  on  November  6  reached  the  Indian  villages 
located  on  eligible  open  grounds  near  the  confluence  of  the  Tippecanoe.  A  pre 
liminary  conference  was  immediately  held  with  the  Indians,  who  recommended  a 
locality  at  a  moderate  distance  inland  as  a  suitable  one  for  an  encampment.  Gen 
eral  Harrison  had  no  reason  to  suspect  Indian  treachery,  nor  is  it  quite  clear  that 
any  was  originally  intended.  But  that  night  the  Prophet  was  observed  practising 
his  secret  rites  of  divination,  and  he  reported  that  the  omens  were  favorable  for 
an  immediate  attack.  The  army  was  encamped  with  the  skill  and  precaution  indi 
cated  by  the  teachings  of  Wayne,  and,  agreeably  to  his  rigid  rules,  General  Har 
rison  had  arisen  to  order  the  reveille,  and  was  in  his  tent  engaged  in  drawing  on 
his  boots,  when  the  chief  musician  stepped  in  to  ask  whether  he  should  commence 
the  beat.  "  Not  yet ;  but  presently,"  was  his  reply.1  The  expression  had  scarcely 
passed  his  lips  when  the  Indian  war-cry  was  heard.  One  of  the  sentinels  on  post 
had  observed  an  arrow  fall  on  the  grass,  which  did  not,  it  seems,  reach  its  destina 
tion  ;  and,  his  curiosity  being  aroused,  he  was  endeavoring  to  peer  through  the  intense 
darkness  in  the  direction  whence  the  arrow  came,  when  the  Indians  made  a  sudden 
onslaught.  A  thousand  wolves  could  not  have  produced  a  more  horrific  howl.  The 
lines  were  driven  in,  the  horses  of  the  officers,  fastened  to  stakes  in  the  square,  broke 
loose,  confusion  everywhere  prevailed,  and  the  army  was  assailed  from  all  points. 
General  Harrison  gallantly  mounted  his  horse,  and  endeavored  to  restore  order  at 
the  principal  points  of  attack.  The  mounted  volunteers  from  Kentucky  and  Indiana 
charged  as  well  as  they  could  through  the  darkness.  The  Fourth  Regiment  of 
United  States  Infantry,  which  was  in  a  high  state  of  discipline,  restored  confidence  to 
the  foot,  and  as  soon  as  the  dawn  of  day  permitted  them  to  act  they  repulsed  the 
Indians.  At  the  same  time  the  volunteer  cavalry  drove  the  enemy  across  the  prairie 
to  their  coverts.  There  had  been,  however,  a  most  severe  and  lamentable  slaughter. 

1  Narratire  of  Adam  Walker,  a  miuician  in  the  Fourth  Regiment. 


:316 


THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


Daylight  rendered  visible  the  dead  bodies  of  the  chivalric  Colonel  Daviess,  of  Ken 
tucky,  and  Colonel  Owens,  of  Indiana,  a  Senator  in  Congress.  Our  loss  was  thirty- 
seven  killed  and  one  hundred  and  fifty-one  wounded.  The  army  was  saved  from 
destruction  only  by  the  rising  of  the  sun,  which  rendered  the  enemy  visible.  It  wasf 
however,  a  decisive  victory  for  the  United  States,  and  a  death-blow  to  the  plans  of  the 
Prophet  and  his  brother  Tecumseh,  and  for  some  time  afterwards  the  frontiers  enjoyed 
peace.  Numbers  of  the  Indians  had  been  slain  by  the  broadsword  in  their  retreat 
This  battle  was  not,  however,  fought  by  Tecumseh,  who,  as  has  been  said,  was  then 
absent  on  a  mission  to  the  Creeks,  his  relatives  by  his  mother's  side. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

WAR  OF  1812— DISASTERS  ON  THE  CANADIAN  FRONTIER— DETROIT  SURRENDERED 
—DEFEAT  AT  THE  RIVER  RAISIN— DUDLEY'S  DEFEAT— VICTORY  OF  THE 
THAMES,  AND  DEATH  OF  TECUMSEH. 

ON  the  18th  of  the  June  following  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe,  Congress  declared 
war  against  Great  Britain.     This  war,  according  to  the  newly-announced  oracular 
view,  appeared  to  the  Indians  as  the  manifestation  of  the  power  of  the  Great  Spirit, 
and  was  regarded  as  the  means  employed  to  disenthrall  them  from  the  hated  rule  of 
the  white  race.     Their  great  Shawnee  prophet  had  announced  to  the  tribes  from  his 
oracular  jesukean,  or  prophet's  lodge,  on  the  banks  of  the  Wabash,  the  approaching 
epoch  of  their  deliverance,  and  the  news  had  been  diffused  far  and  wide.     The 
intimate  political  relations  of  his  brother  Tecumseh  with  the  British  authorities  of 
Canada  formed  the  nucleus  of  their  power,  and  hence  they  could  depend  on  the 
British  for  arms,  provisions,  and  clothing.     Was  it  any  wonder  that  they  flocked  to 
the  British  standard  as  soon  as  it  was  displayed?    Twenty-seven  days  after  the 
declaration  of  this  war  by  Congress  the  Indians  were  in  possession  of  Michilimack- 
inac,  and  on  the  same  day  their  tomahawks  were  red  with  the  gore  of  the  slaugh 
tered  garrison  of  Chicago,  who  had  abandoned  the  fort  and  sought  safety  on  the 
sandy  shores  of  Lake  Michigan.     The  war  resulted  mainly  from  long-pending  dis 
putes  concerning  maritime  rights  and  national  injustice.     The  concurrent  Indian 
hostilities  on  the  frontiers  were  but  a  small  part  of  the  original  cause  of  complaint. 
Yet  the  assumption  that  they  were  originated  by  British  emissaries  was  clearly 
deducible  from  the  events  which  took  place  on  the  frontiers,  and  it  derived  additional 
confirmation  in  a  short  time  from  the  fact  that  these  Indian  tribes  were  engaged  to 
"  fight  by  the  side  of  white  men"  and  to  serve  as  auxiliaries  to  the  British  army  in 
the  West     In  the  war  of  1812  Great  Britain  made  the  same  unjustifiable  use  of  the 
Indians  as  she  had  previously  done  in  that  of  1776, — they  were  her  cruel  and  bloody 
satellites.     Thayendanagea  had  gone  to  the  hunting-grounds  of  the  spirit-land,  but 
his  place  was  more  than  filled  by  Tecumseh,  who  possessed  greater  energy  of  pur 
pose,  with  equal  bravery,  and  had  more  deeply  enlisted  the  warmest  sympathies  of  the 
Indians.     The  former,  it  is  believed,^had  ere  his  death  overcome  his  violent  prejudices 
against  the  Americans;  the  latter  fell  in  defence  of  rights  and  of -a  cause  which  he 
felt  to  be  just,  while  his  dishonest  adviser  and  auxiliary  in  command,  General 
Proctor,  fled  ingloriously  from  the  field. 

The  Indians  believed  that  in  the  war  of  1812  they  had  an  opportunity  of 
regaining  possession  of  the  Western  country,  perhaps  to  the  line  of  the  Illinois, 
while  the  British  hoped  to  secure  a  more  southerly  line  of  boundary  than  that 

317 


318  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

prescribed  by  the  treaty  of  1783, — a  motive  which,  in  the  minds  of  sober,  thinking 
people,  hardly  redounded  to  their  credit.  Their  conduct  in  this  war,  as  in  that  of 
the  Revolution,  served  only  to  add  to  its  horrors,  and  by  acts  of  cruelty  incited  the 
Americans  to  greater  exertions.  That  the  Indians  had  been  told  that  they  would  be 
able  to  recover  their  territory  northwest  of  the  Ohio  is  evident  from  the  speech  of 
Tecumseh  made  to  General  Proctor  at  Amherstburg  in  1813.  "  When  the  war  was 
declared,"  said  the  great  Indian  captain,  "  our  father  stood  up,  and  gave  us  the 
tomahawk,  and  told  us  that  he  was  now  ready  to  strike  the  Americans ;  that  he 
wanted  our  assistance ;  and  that  he  would  certainly  get  us  our  lands  back  which  the 
Americans  had  taken  from  us." 

After  reciting  the  long  course  of  maritime  injustice  and  wrong,  the  Congressional 
Committee  on  Foreign  Affairs  emphatically  say,  "  Forbearance  has  ceased  to  be  a 
virtue.  .  .  .  Whether  the  British  government  has  contributed  by  active  measures  to 
excite  against  us  the  hostility  of  the  savage  tribes  on  our  frontiers  your  committee 
are  not  disposed  to  occupy  much  time  in  investigating.  Certain  indications  of  general 
notoriety  may  supply  the  place  of  authentic  documents,  though  these  have  not  been 
wanting  to  establish  the  fact  in  some  instances.  It  is  known  that  symptoms  of 
British  hostility  towards  the  United  States  have  never  failed  to  produce  corresponding 
symptoms  among  those  tribes.  It  is  also  well  known  that  on  all  such  occasions 
abundant  supplies  of  the  ordinary  munitions  of  war  have  been  afforded  by  the  British 
commercial  companies,  and  even  from  British  garrisons,  wherewith  they  were  enabled 
to  commence  that  system  of  savage  warfare  on  our  frontiers  which  has  been  at  all 
times  indiscriminate  in  its  effect  on  all  ages,  sexes,  and  conditions,  and  so  revolting 
to  humanity." 

"Summer  before  last"  (i.e.,  1810),  says  Tecumseh,  "when  I  came  forward  with 
my  red  brethren,  and  was  ready  to  take  up  the  hatchet  in  favor  of  our  British  father, 
we  were  told  not  to  be  in  a  hurry ;  that  he  had  not  yet  determined  to  fight  the  Amer 
icans."  This  impatience  on  the  part  of  the  Indians  was  so  great  that  they  took  the 
initiative  at  the  battle  of  Tippecanoe.  That  action  thrilled  through  the  nerves  of 
the  Americans  like  an  electric  shock,  and  was  the  first  intimation  that  the  frontiers 
were  about  to  become  the  scene  of  another  desperate  contest  with  the  bloodthirsty  and 
infuriated  savages.  But  though  the  impatient  Indians  chafed  at  the  delay,  it  served 
to  give  a  degree  of  unanimity  to  their  hostility  which  even  the  war  of  the  Revolution 
had  not  witnessed.  From  the  termination  of  the  Appalachian  chain  to  the  great 
lake-basins  of  Erie,  Huron,  Michigan,  and  Superior,  onward  to  the  Falls  of  St. 
Anthony,  and  southward  to  the  gulf,  the  Indians  assumed  an  attitude  of  determined 
hostility ;  and  as  soon  as  the  key-note  was  sounded  in  Canada  by  the  British  bugle, 
an  answering  yell  of  discord  resounded  through  the  land  which  electrified  the  people 
on  the  frontiers,  made  the  mother  quake  with  dread  in  her  nursery,  and  summoned 
the  patriotic  militiaman  to  arms. 

During  the  winter  following  the  action  on  the  Wabash,  Elkswattawa  continued  his 
incantations,  delivering  his  oracular  responses  with  more  and  more  authority,  while 
his  distinguished  brother  continued  those  negotiations  with  the  tribes  which  were 


POST-REVOLUTIONARY.  319 

necessary  to  prepare  them  for  conflict,  and  we  should  not  have  known  that  they  were 
ready  to  take  up  the  hatchet  two  years  previously  had  not  Tecumseh  stated  it  in 
his  celebrated  speech. 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1812,  the  forests  surrounding  every  military  post  in  the 
West  were  at  nearly  the  same  time  filled  with  armed  warriors,  who  watched  the  gates 
with  the  keen  eyes  of  a  panther  ready  to  spring  upon  its  prey.     Their  central  ren 
dezvous,  and   the   depot  whence  they  drew  their  supplies,  was  Fort  Maiden,  at 
Amherstburg,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Detroit  River.     They  had  watched  the  move 
ments  of  Hull  in  Michigan  with  the  accuracy  of  a  vulture,  or  of  an  eagle  on  its 
perch ;  and,  with  the  same  rapacious  vigilance,  they  had  permitted  no  one  to  escape 
who  ventured  from  the  gates  of  a  fort  or  of  any  guarded  enclosure.    When  the  appre 
hensions  of  Hull  had  reached  their  climax,  and  the  British  flag  was  hoisted  on  the 
ramparts  of  Fort  Shelby,  their  exultation  was  extreme.     The  Chippewas  and  Ottawas, 
with  delegations  of  the  Menomonies,  Winnebagoes,  and  Sioux,  had,  on  the  17th  of  I 
July  preceding,  enabled  Captain  Roberts,  with  a  trifling  force,1  to  surprise  and  cap-!' 
ture  Michilimacklnac.     On  the  4th  of  August  a  large  body  of  Wyandots  and  other  , 
Indians,  lying  in  ambuscade  at  Brownstown,  defeated  Major  Van  Horn,  with  a  force  :1 
of  two  hundred  riflemen,  driving  him  back  to  Detroit  with  great  loss.     On  the  \ 
9th  of  August,  after  Hull  had  recrossed  Detroit  River,  Colonel  Miller  also  encoun 
tered  at  Brownstown  the  same  force  of  Indians,  led  by  Tecumseh,  and  supported  by 
a  large  body  of  British  regulars,  located  behind  temporary  breastworks,  whom  he 
gallantly  charged  with  the  bayonet  and  defeated.     On  the  16th  of  the  same  month 
Detroit  was  surrendered  to  an  inconsiderable  army  hastily  mustered  by  General 
Brock,  who  officially  intimated  that  the  Indians  could  not  be  restrained.     General 
Hull  observes  that  "  the  history  of  barbarians  in  the  north  of  Europe  does  not  furnish 
examples  of  more  greedy  violence  than  these  savages  have  exhibited,"  and  thus 
consoles  himself  by  an  historical  truism  for  a  surrender  which  is  a  lasting  stigma  on 
the  military  history  of  the  Union. 

On  the  loth  of  August  the  garrison  of  Chicago  (where  Fort  Dearborn  had  been 
erected  in  1804),  under  Captain  Heald,  was  surrounded  by  Pottawatomies  while  on 
its  march  to  Detroit  along  the  open  shores  of  Lake  Michigan,  and  all  but  about 
fifteen  massacred,  including  the  women  and  children  who  followed  the  camp.  The 
stock  .of  stores  and  baggage  was  captured. 

On  the  8th  of  September  the  Wabash  Indians  invested  Fort  Harrison,  on  the 
Wabash,  about  sixty-five  miles  above  Yincennes,  and  a  short  distance  above  the 
present  city  of  Terre  Haute,  then  garrisoned  by  a  few  men  under  command  of  Cap 
tain  Zachary  Taylor.1  They  killed  several  persons  outside  of  the  fort,  and  invested 
it  closely  for  two  days.  Finding  they  could  not  force  an  entry,  they  fired  one  of  the 
block-houses,  the  lower  part  of  which  contained  the  provisions  of  the  garrison.  At- 

1  According  to  Lieutenant  Hanks,  there  were  but  forty-sir  regular  British  troops,  with  three  hundred 
and  iixty  Canadian  militia  and  §cvcn  hundred  and  fifteen  Indiana. — Official  Lettert,  p.  86. 
'  Thirty  seven  yean  afterward*,  tbia  officer  waa  elected  President  of  the  United  States. 


320  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

tempts  to  save  it  proving  unsuccessful,  it  was  burned  down,  leaving  an  opening  about 
eighteen  feet  in  width.  With  great  self-possession  and  cool  courage,  Captain  Taylor 
caused  the  breach  to  be  repaired,  though  subjected  to  an  incessant  fire  from  the 
enemy,  and  finally  beat  them  off. 

On  the  5th  of  the  month  the  savages  laid  siege  to  Fort  Madison,  on  the  Upper 
Mississippi,  commencing  their  operations  by  shooting  and  scalping  a  soldier  near  the 
gate.  They  then  opened  a  brisk  attack  with  ball  and  buckshot,  killed  the  cattle  in 
an  outer  enclosure,  fired  at  the  flag-staff,  and  cut  the  rope  which  held  tLe  flag,  causing 
it  to  fall,  and  also  made  several  bold  and  dexterous  attempts  to  set  the  works  on  fire. 

Early  in  October,  Governor  Edwards,  of  Illinois,  marched  against  the  Indian 
town  of  Peoria  and  the  savages  in  its  vicinity.  He  was  attacked  by  the  Indians  in 
their  usual  manner,  but  succeeded  in  burning  their  towns  and  destroying  their  corn, 
losing  only  a  few  men.  In  the  mouth  of  November  the  hostilities  of  the  Wabash 
Indians  became  so  troublesome  that  a  force  of  about  twelve  hundred  and  fifty  volun 
teers,  under  General  Hopkins,  was  marched  from  Yincennes  against  them.  On  the 
20th,  21st,  and  22d  he  applied  the  torch  to  several  of  their  villages,  utterly  destroyed 
the  Prophet's  town,  and  drove  the  enemy  from  their  strongholds,  who,  however, 
avoided  any  decisive  battle.  On  the  12th  of  December  two  or  three  hundred 
Indians  assaulted  the  camp  of  Colonel  Campbell,  on  the  Mississinewa  branch  of  the 
Wabash,  killing  eight  men  and  wounding  thirty-five  or  forty.  General  Harrison 
commended  the  intrepidity  with  which  this  attack  was  repulsed. 

The  year  1812  closed  very  inauspiciously.  In  wars  with  his  own  race  the  Indian 
never  continues  hostile  operations  during  the  winter  season.  The  trees  have  then 
lost  their  foliage,  and  do  not  hide  his  movements ;  the  snows  at  that  season  present 
a  complete  map  of  his  track ;  the  cold  is  too  intense  for  him  to  dispense  with  fire,  the 
light  of  which  would  reveal  the  position  of  his  encampment  But  when  an  Indian 
is  quartered  among  civilized  troops  he  is  protected  in  the  use  of  camp-fires,  he  builds 
huts  to  ward  off  storms,  draws  his  provisions  from  a  commissary,  and  clothes  him 
self  in  woollens  which  are  not  paid  for  by  beaver-skins.  Under  these  circumstances 
a  winter  campaign  can  be  endured,  and  does  not  become  distasteful. 

The  river  Detroit  had  been  from  the  earliest  period  the  principal  entrance  to  the 
Indian  territory  in  the  Northwest,  and  the  area  of  lower  or  eastern  Michigan  conse 
quently  became  the  meeting-place  of  Indian  councils,  and  the  grand  rendezvous  of 
war-parties.  The  surrender  by  Hull  of  this  territory  appeared  to  have  abandoned  it 
to  them  under  the  protection  of  their  allies.  It  was  renowned  in  their  mythology  as 
having  been  trodden  by  the  fabled  heroes  and  demi-gods  Inigorio,  Manabozho,  and 
Hiawatha,  and  celebrated  in  their  traditional  history  by  the  deeds  of  a  Pontiac  and 
a  Minnavivina.  The  great  object  of  the  manoeuvres  of  the  United  States  troops  was  | 
to  regain  possession  of  Michigan.  Tecumseh,  whose  head-quarters  were  located  near 
Amherstburg,  separated  from  it  only  by  the  river  Detroit,  had,  as  has  been  already ' 
mentioned,  defeated  Major  Van  Horn  at  Brownstown  on  the  4th  of  August,  1812, 
and  likewise  had  aided  in  the  determined  resistance  made  to  Colonel  Miller  at  the 
same  place  on  the  9th. 


POST-REVOLUTIONARY.  321 

On  January  18,  1813,  Lieutenant-Colonel  William  Lewis,  with  six  hundred 
Kentucky  volunteers  from  General  James  Winchester's  division,  which  had  just 
marched  through  the  snow  from  the  Miami,  made  a  forced  march  from  the  rapids  to 
the  river  Raisin,  where  he  attacked  a  force  of  five  hundred  British  and  Indians 
under  Major  Reynolds,  who  were  driven  from  their  defences.  The  night  of  the  21st 
was  intensely  cold,  and  no  pickets  were  posted  upon  the  road  by  which  the  enemy  at 
Maiden,  only  eighteen  miles  distant,  might  be  expected.  At  daybreak  on  the  morn 
ing  of  the  22d,  Winchester's  camp  was  suddenly  attacked  by  about  one  thousand 
British  and  Indians,  commanded  respectively  by  Colonel  Proctor  and  Tecumseh,  with 
artillery.  They  were  kept  at  bay  by  the  detachment  of  Colonel  Lewis,  which  was 
protected  by  picketing,  but  Colonel  Wells's  regiment,  encamped  on  the  open  ground, 
and  attacked  from  the  cover  of  the  houses  and  enclosures  upon  its  flanks,  soon  gave 
way  and  fled  panic-stricken.  They  were  pursued  and  slaughtered  without  mercy  by 
the  Indians,  scarcely  a  man  escaping  death  or  captivity.  The  Kentuckians  gallantly 
held  their  position,  though  subjected  to  the  fire  of  six  field-pieces,  until  their  ammu 
nition  was  expended,  when  they  surrendered  upon  honorable  conditions.  These 
conditions,  as  respected  the  wounded,  were  inhumanly  violated.  They,  having  been 
left  without  a  guard,  were  all  murdered  by  the  Indians  under  circumstances  of 
shocking  barbarity.  This  terrible  disaster  resulted  in  a  loss  to  the  Americans  in 
killed,  wounded,  and  prisoners  of  about  one  thousand. 

The  Northern  Indians  assembled  under  British  colors  around  Fort  Meigs,  on  the 
Maumee,  aided  materially  in  effecting  the  defeat,  on  the  5th  of  May,  of  twelve  hun 
dred  volunteers  under  General  Green  Clay  and  Colonel  Dudley.  Clay,  who  on 
May  4  had  reached  Fort  Defiance,  was  ordered  by  General  Harrison  to  land  eight 
hundred  men  on  the  north  shore,  opposite  Fort  Meigs,  to  carry  the  British  batteries, 
spike  the  cannon,  and  destroy  the  carriages,  and  then  to  cross  over  to  the  fort.  Col 
onel  William  Dudley,  who  was  charged  with  the  execution  of  this  order,  after  finishing 
his  work,  instead  of  withdrawing  as  ordered,  pursued  the  enemy  nearly  two  miles, 
his  men  being  scattered  in  the  woods  in  all  directions.  In  this  situation  the  enemy 
intercepted  their  retreat,  and  the  whole  detachment,  with  the  exception  of  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  men,  were  killed  or  captured,  many  being  shot  down  and  scalped 
after  becoming  prisoners.  The  siege  of  Fort  Meigs  by  about  three  thousand  British 
and  Indians  under  General  Proctor,  which  had  lasted  eleven  days,  was  raised  on  the 
9th  of  May. 

The  Northwestern  Indians,  who  were  under  the  influence  of  Tecumseh,  and  of 
the  Shawnee  prophet,  his  brother,  had  manifested  considerable  restlessness  and  dis 
satisfaction  at  the  course  pursued  by  the  British  generals  during  the  spring,  summer, 
and  autumn  of  1813.  Their  decided  and  unexpected  defeat  by  Croghan  in  the  sharp 
action  at  Upper  Sandusky,  their  abandonment  of  the  siege  of  Fort  Meigs  and  with 
drawal  from  the  American  shores  of  Lake  Erie,  and,  above  all,  the  capture  of  the 
British  fleet  by  Perry,  had  appeared  to  the  Indians  to  be  presages  of  evil.  As  early 
as  the  18th  of  August,  only  eight  days  after  Perry's  victory,  Tecumseh  had  protested 
against  these  retrograde  movements.  He  was  then  in  ignorance  of  the  result  of  the 

n—41 


322  Zffff  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

naval  battle,  which  had  been  concealed  from  him,  but  he  feared  the  worst  "  We 
have  heard  the  guns,"  he  said,  "  but  know  nothing  of  what  has  happened  to  our 
father  with  one  arm.1  Our  ships  have  gone  one  way,  and  we  are  very  much  aston 
ished  to  see  our  father  tying  up  everything  and  preparing  to  run  away  another,  with 
out  letting  his  red  children  know  what  his  intentions  are.  You  always  told  us  to 
remain  here  and  take  care  of  our  lands ;  it  made  our  hearts  glad  to  hear  that  was 
your  wish.  Our  great  father,  the  King  of  England,  is  the  head,  and  you  represent 
him.  You  always  told  us  that  you  would  never  draw  your  foot  off  British  ground. 
But  now,  father,  we  see  you  are  drawing  back,  and  we  are  sorry  for  our  father  doing 
so  without  seeing  the  enemy." 

The  victory  obtained  by  Perry  was  the  turning-point  in  the  campaign.  A  fleet 
being  now  at  the  command  of  General  Harrison,  he  could  at  once  transport  his  entire 
army,  with  its  artillery  and  baggage,  across  the  lake,  thus  avoiding  long  and  perilous 
marches,  through  almost  impassable  bogs,  such  as  that  of  the  Black  Swamp,  and 
the  peril  of  ambuscades  in  the  forests.  General  Harrison  landed  his  army  on  the 
shores  of  the  lake,  a  few  miles  below  Amherstburg,  on  the  23d  of  September,  and  in 
less  than  one  hour  he  marched  into  the  town,  where  not  a  single  British  soldier  was 
to  be  found.  General  Proctor,  the  commandant,  had  fled,  with  all  his  troops  and  the 
Indian  auxiliaries,  after  burning  the  fort,  barracks,  navy-yard,  and  public  stores. 
He  was  pursued  the  following  day,  and  on  the  5th  of  October  was  overtaken  at  the 
Moravian  town  on  the  rixe.r  Thames,  when  a  general  action  ensued,  in  which  he  was 
utterly  defeated. 

The  ground  occupied  by  the  British  was  the  river-bottom,  about  three  hundred 
yards  wide,  and  thickly  set  with  beech-trees.  Their  left  rested  upon  the  river,  and 
their  right  upon  a  swamp  which  ran  parallel  to  the  river  and  covered  their  right 
flank.  Beyond  this  swamp  their  line  was  prolonged  by  their  Indian  allies,  who 
occupied  low  grounds  behind  a  dense  forest  of  beeches,  impenetrable  by  horsemen. 
The  position  was  well  chosen,  and  evinced  the  judgment  of  their  great  captain, 
Tecumseh,  who  commanded  the  Indians  and  by  word  and  example  animated  them 
to  a  vigorous  resistance.  Proctor's  force  consisted  of  eight  hundred  regulars  and 
twelve  hundred  Indians.  Harrison's  army  numbered  twenty-five  hundred,  chiefly 
Kentucky  volunteers.  His  line  of  battle  was  formed  by  the  two  divisions  of  Henry 
and  Desha,  including  the  brigades  of  Trotter,  King,  Chiles,  Allen,  and  Caldwell. 
Henry's  division  confronted  the  British  regulars,  while  that  of  Desha  was  formed  at 
a  right  angle  with  it,  facing  the  swamp,  the  Indian  stronghold.  The  venerable  Isaac 
Shelby,  of  King's  Mountain  fame,  took  his  station  at  the  point  where  the  lines  inter 
sected.  Colonel  R.  M.  Johnson's  regiment  of  mounted  gunmen  had  originally  been 
intended  to  turn  the  Indian  flank  and  operate  in  the  rear,  as  in  Wayne's  battle,  but, 
learning  that  the  British  regulars  were  deployed  as  skirmishers  in  loose  order,  he 
directed  them  to  charge  Proctor  in  front.  Johnson,  finding  that  the  whole  of  his 
regiment  could  not  act  with  effect  upon  the  narrow  front  of  the  British  line,  ordered 

1  Commodore  Barclay. 


POST-REVOLUTIONARY.  323 

bis  brother  to  charge  them  with  one  battalion,  while  he  charged  the  Indians  with  the 
other.  The  charge  upon  the  British  was  completely  successful.  Proctor  fled,  and 
the  whole  right  wing  threw  down  their  arms  and  surrendered.  The  charge  upon  the 
Indians,  from  the  nature  of  the  ground  and  their  more  vigorous  resistance,  proved 
unsuccessful.  The  horsemen  recoiled  in  disorder,  and,  dismounting,  commenced  an 
irregular  skirmish  with  the  Indians.  Colonel  Johnson,  who  had  gallantly  led  a 
forlorn  hope  of  twenty  men,  was  desperately  wounded,  and  borne  off  before  the  close 
of  the  action.  The  defeat  of  Proctor  in  front,  however,  left  Tecumseh  unprotected, 
and  he  would  have  been  compelled  to  retreat  had  not  the  action  in  this  quarter 
terminated  in  the  death  of  the  great  chief. 

With  the  fall  of  Tecumseh  the  Indian  league  was  virtually  broken.  The  Indians 
generally  abandoned  the  contest  and  dispersed.  A  strong  party  of  them,  however, 
accompanied  by  the  British  troops,  crossed  the  Niagara  before  daybreak  on  the  30th 
of  December  and  laid  the  village  of  Buffalo  in  ruins.  On  the  16th  of  October, 
General  Harrison  issued  a  proclamation  granting  an  armistice  to  the  Miamis,  Potta- 
watomies,  Weas,  Eel  lliver  Indians,  Chippewas,  Ottawas,  and  Wyandots,  each  of 
these  tribes  having  delivered  into  his  custody  hostages  for  the  faithful  performance 
of  their  agreement.  The  same  tribes,  together  with  the  Kickapoos,  had  previously 
sent  delegates  to  Generals  McArthur  and  Cuss,  commanding  at  Detroit,  offering  to 
conclude  a  peace. 


CHAPTER-  V. 

HOSTILITIES  WITH  THB  CREEKS— MASSACRE  AT  FORT  BOMS— BATTLES  OF  TUL- 
LUSHATCHES,  TALLADEGA,  HILLABEE,  ATTASEE,  EMUCKFAU,  ENOTOCHOPCO, 
AND  TOHOPEKA— SURRENDER  OF  WEATHERFORD— CAPTURE  OF  PENSACOLA 
—THE  WAR  ENDED. 

WE  must  now  turn  our  attention  to  the  Southern  tribes.  The  fallacy  of  con 
cluding  treaties  with  an  ignorant,  wild,  and  nomadic  people,  destitute  of  sound  moral 
principles,  was  never  more  fully  demonstrated  than  in  the  case  of  the  Appalachian 
group  of  tribes.  The  Creeks,  a  full  delegation  of  whom,  with  McGillivray  at  its 
head,  visited  New  York  in  1790,  and,  amid  great  ceremony,  entered  into  solemn 
compacts  with  General  Washington,  renewing  the  same  in  1796,  and  again  in  1802, 
as  well  as  in  1805,  were,  all  the  while,  only  carrying  out  a  diplomatic  scheme.  They 
hated  the  Americans,  and  the  more  so,  it  seems,  because  they  had  as  colonies  pre 
vailed  over  the  British.  This  great  tribe  had  in  early  days  subdued  the  once  proud 
Uchees  and  Natchez  and  the  Florida  tribes,  and  in  truth  wielded  the  power  of  a 
confederacy,  which  they  averred  to  consist  of  seven  tribes  or  elements.  But  in  a 
confederacy  of  savages  it  was  necessary  to  keep  the  tomahawk  ever  lifted.  Destitute 
of  political  compactness,  and  its  leaders  lacking  the  power  of  combination  as  well  as 
moral  steadiness,  this  league  was  powerful  only  against  savages  like  themselves,  and 
proved  to  be  an  utter  failure  when  opposed  to  the  policy  of  a  civilized  nation. 

Tecumseh  had  harangued  in  their  councils  early  in  his  career.  His  mother 
having  been  a  Creek,  they  listened  to  his  words  with  peculiar  favor,  more  especially 
as  he  was  fresh  from  the  banks  of  the  Wabash,  where  he  had  heard  the  voice  of 
inspiration.  In  common  with  the  Western  tribes,  the  Creeks  believed  that  they  were 
on  the  eve  of  a  great  revolution,  through  which  the  Indians  would  once  more  regain 
their  ascendency  in  America. 

So  long  had  the  Creeks  been  at  peace  with  the  settlers,  and  such  progress  had 
many  of  them  made  in  civilization,  and  so  attached  to  the  whites  had  the  more  intel 
ligent  of  the  chiefs  become,  that  the  process  of  fomenting  a  civil  war  was  a  long  and 
doubtful  one.  To  his  public  addresses  from  time  to  tune  Tecumseh  added  private 
persuasion.  Prophets  howled,  danced,  and  performed  miracles  at  his  bidding.  His 
utmost  efforts  were  employed  in  gaining  over  the  leaders,  among  the  first  of  whom 
was  Weatherford,  a  half-breed,  possessing  a  genius  similar  to  his  own,  handsome, 
sagacious,  eloquent,  and  brave.  Returning  northward,  Tecumseh's  injunctions  to 
secrecy  were  so  well  observed  that  for  six  months  afterwards,  while  the  war  question 
was  agitating  thirty  thousand  souls,  the  whites  knew  nothing  of  it,  and  as  late  as 
midsummer,  1813,  they  were  still  in  doubt  whether  the  Creeks  intended  hostilities. 
324 


POST-REVOLUTIONARY.  325 

Thoroughly  alarmed  at  last,  the  planters  along  the  Alabama  River,  few  in  number 
and  defenceless,  left  their  houses  and  crops  and  took  refuge  in  the  block-houses  and 
stockades,  of  which  there  were  twenty  in  a  line  of  seventy  miles.     The  neighbors  of 
Samuel  Minis  resorted  to  his  enclosure  of  upright  logs,  pierced  for  musketry,  on  the 
shores  of  Lake  Tensaw,  each  family  hastening  to  construct  within  it  a  rough  cabin 
for  its  own  accommodation.     Major  Daniel  Beasley,  wilh  one  hundred  and  seventy- 
five  volunteers,  had  command  of  the  fort,  which,  on  the  fatal  morning  of  August  30, 
contained  no  less  than  five  hundred  and  fifty-three  souls,  of  whom  more  than  one 
•  hundred  were  women  and  children.    Days  passed:  the  first  panic  subsided,  the  danger 
was  made  light  of,  discipline  was  relaxed,  and  the  inmates  gave  themselves  up  to  fun 
and  frolic.      At  noon,  August  30,  Weatherford  and  one  thousand  Creek  Indians, 
who,  armed  to  the  teeth  and  hideous  with  war-paint,  had  all  the  morning  lain  hidden 
in  a  ravine  only  four  hundred  yards  distant,  leaped  from  their  lair,  and  were  only  one 
hundred  and  fifty  yards  from  the  gate  when  first  seen.     For  three  hours  the  garrison 
maintained  a  destructive  fire  through  the  port-holes  and  from  the  houses.     But  at 
length,  by  means  of  burning  arrows,  the  buildings  were  fired,  and  a  scene  of  slaughter 
ensued.    Weatherford  tried  to  stop  the  carnage,  but  the  Indians,  delirious  with  blood, 
could  not  be  controlled.     At  sundown  four  hundred  mangled  corpses  strewed  the 
ground.     Not  a  white  woman  or  child  escaped.     A  few  half-breeds  were  made  pris 
oners,  and  a  number  of  negroes  were  spared  and  kept  as  slaves.     Major  Beasley  was 
one  of  the  first  that  fell.     Of  the  Indians,  four  hundred  were  killed  and  wounded. 
The  news  of  the  massacre  flew  upon  the  wings  of  the  wind.     In  the  country  of  the 
Alabama  River  and  its  branches  every  soul  fled  in  terror  to  the  stockades  or  towards 
Mobile.     Property  of  all  kinds  was  abandoned.     Parties  of  Indians  roved  about  the 
country  rioting  in  plunder,  and  for  weeks  it  seemed  as  if  the  white  settlers  of 
Alabama  were  about  to  be  exterminated. 

The  Northern  tribes  were  to  a  considerable  extent  controlled  by  climatic  influ 
ences.  They  could  not  continue  together  in  large  bodies  without  being  furnished 
with  regular  supplies  of  food  and  some  of  the  requisites  of  a  military  camp.  When, 
therefore,  their  white  allies  and  supporters  were  defeated  they  were  dismayed,  but 
when  their  own  great  leaders  and  captains  were  killed  they  were  placed  entirely  hor» 
du  combat.  There  were  no  reserves  from  which  to  recruit  defeated  Indian  armies ; 
there  was,  in  truth,  no  recuperative  power  in  the  Indian  character.  To  some  extent 
the  tribes  south  of  latitude  40°  north  were  an  exception  to  this  rule.  From  40°  to 
46°  north  the  snow  falls  to  a  greater  or  less  depth  between  the  months  of  November 
and  March.  North  of  46°,  corn,  on  which  the  Indian  relies  for  his  supply  of  vege 
table  food,  must  be  purchased  from  the  Indian  traders  who  visit  his  villages  during 
the  winter;  but  a  war  with  Europeans,  whose  armies  can  operate  either  in  winter  or  in 
summer,  is  adverse  to  hunting  and  destructive  of  his  means,  as  the  Northern  Indian 
can  neither  raise  corn  in  summer  nor  hunt  deer  or  search  the  streams  for  beaver 
in  winter.  It  is  far  otherwise  with  the  tribes  located  between  the  latitudes  of  the 
capes  of  Florida  and  the  Appalachian  Mountains.  A  large  part  of  this  territory, 
lying  between  the  longitudes  of  the  Atlantic  coasts  of  Georgia  and  Florida  and  the 


326  TBE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

banks  of  the  Mississippi,  have  an  almost  tropical  climate,  and  produce  sub-tropical 
vegetation.  Here  are  grown  the  indigo-plant,  cotton,  rice,  and  sugar,  also  the  orange, 
banana,  and  other  far  Southern  fruits.  The  forests  are  redolent  with  the  aromatic 
odors  of  groves  of  illicium,  myrtle,  laurel,  and  bignonia.  The  Indian  spreads  his 
simple  mantle  here,  and  lies  down  on  the  ground  without  a  tent  or  a  fire.  The 
forests  are  filled  with  the  deer  and  wild  turkey.  The  soil  yields  the  arrow-root  and 
wild  potatoes,  and  the  sea-coasts,  as  well  as  the  lakes,  abound  with  shell-fish  and  the 
various  species  of  water-fowl.  These  tribes  had  not  yet  been  circumscribed  in  their 
movements  by  the  onward  progress  of  the  emigrant ;  and  no  such  idea  had  mingled 
in  their  dreams  as  that  the  fertile  and  extensive  territories  on  the  Chattahopchee, 
the  Alabama,  and  the  Tuscaloosa  were  designed  for  nobler  pursuits  than  the  mere 
hunting  of  deer.  Antiquity  of  opinion,  manners,  and  arts  is  what  the  native 
unsophisticated  Indian  loves ;  novelty  is  distasteful,  progress  is  unrelished,  agriculture 
is  regarded  as  servitude,  letters  and  religion  are  detested. 

The  laying  down  of  the  war-club  by  the  Northern  tribes,  who  had  been  led  on 
by  Tecumseh  in  their  crusade  against  civilization,  had  little  or  no  effect  on  the 
Southern  tribes.  Within  one  month  after  the  decisive  battle  of  the  Thames,  in  the 
North,  the  Creeks  assumed  such  an  attitude  of  hostility  at  Tullushatches,  on  the 
Coosa  River,  that  General  John  Coffee  marched  against  them  with  a  brigade  of 
cavalry  and  mounted  riflemen.  The  Indian  town  was  reached  at  sunrise,  November 
3,  when  the  beating  of  the  drums  of  the  savages  indicated  that  they  were  prepared 
to  meet  them.  A  sham  attack  and  retreat  by  a  single  company  effectually,  succeeded 
in  decoying  them  from  their  houses  in  close  pursuit  This  sally  was  checked  by 
their  encountering  the  main  body  of  Coffee's  command,  which  charged  them  and 
drove  them  back  to  their  shelter,  where  they  were  in  a  very  short  time  surrounded 
by  superior  numbers.  They  fought  with  great  desperation,  without  "  shrinking  or 
complaining ;  no  one  asked  to  be  spared,  but  all  fought  as  long  as  they  could  stand 
or  sit."  One  hundred  and  eighty-six  dead  bodies  were  counted  on  the  field,  and 
eighty  prisoners  were  taken,  chiefly  women  and  children.  General  Coffee's  brigade 
lost  five  killed  and  forty-one  wounded. 

Only  a  few  days  elapsed  when  the  Creeks  appeared  in  great  force  at  Talladega, 
surrounding  a  small  fort  into  which  one  hundred  and  fifty-four  friendly  Creeks  had 
fled  for  safety,  and  investing  it  so  completely  that  not  a  man  could  escape.  With 
only  a  small  quantity  of  corn  and  scarcely  any  water,  outnumbered  seven  to  one,  and 
unable  to  send  intelligence  of  their  situation,  the  inmates  of  the  fort  seemed  doomed 
to  massacre.  The  assailants,  sure  of  their  prey,  whooped  and  sported  around  it, 
waiting  for  terror  or  starvation  to  save  them  the  trouble  of  conquest.  Days  passed, 
and  the  sufferings  of  the  beleaguered  Indians  from  thirst  began  to  be  intolerable. 
At  length  a  noted  chief,  enveloped  in  the  skin  of  a  hog,  left  the  fort,  and,  rooting 
and  grunting  about,  succeeded  in  gradually  working  his  way  through  the  enemy's 
line,  and  next  day  reached  the  camp  of  General  Jackson,  thirty  miles  distant  That 
energetic  officer,  to  whom  the  command  had  been  assigned,  promptly  advanced  to 
their  relief,  and  by  great  exertions  and  night-marches  reached  the  vicinity  of  the  fort 


POS  T-RE  VOL  UTIONAR  Y.  327 

on  the  9th  of  November.  At  sunrise  he  attacked  the  Indians  and  gained  a  decisive 
victory,  two  hundred  and  ninety  of  them  being  left  dead  on  the  field.  The  joy  of 
the  rescued  Creeks  was  affecting  in  the  extreme,  and  they  thronged  around  their 
deliverer,  testifying  their  delight  and  gratitude.  Jackson  had  seventeen  killed  and 
eighty-three  wounded. 

The  Ilillubee  warriors  who  had  been  defeated  at  Talladega  at  once  sent  a  mes 
senger  to  Fort  Strother  to  sue  for  peace.  Jackson's  reply  was  prompt  and  character 
istic.  His  government,  he  said,  had  taken  up  arms  to  avenge  the  most  gross  injuries, 
and  to  bring  back  to  a  senna  of  duty  a  people  to  whom  it  had  shown  the  utmost 
kindness.  When  these  objects  were  attained  the  war  would  cease,  but  not  till  then. 
"  Upon  those,"  he  continued,  "  who  are  disposed  to  become  friendly  I  neither  wish 
nor  intend  to  make  war,  but  they  must  afford  evidences  of  the  sincerity  of  their 
professions ;  the  prisoners  and  property  they  have  taken  from  us  and  the  friendly 
Creeks  must  be  restored ;  the  instigators  of  the  war  and  the  murderers  of  our  citi 
zens  must  be  surrendered ;  the  latter  must  and  will  be  made  to  feel  the  force  of  our 
resentment.  Long  shall  they  remember  Fort  Minis  in  bitterness  and  tears."  Before 
this  message  reached  the  Hillabecs,  an  event  occurred  which  banished  from  their 
minds  all  thoughts  of  peace,  changing  them  from  suppliants  for  pardon  to  deadly 
enemies.  Totally  unaware  of  the  state  of  feeling  among  them,  nay,  supposing  them 
to  be  inveteratcly  hostile,  Brigadier-General  James  White  marched  against  their 
towns  on  the  Tallapoosa,  about  one  hundred  miles  from  Fort  Armstrong,  on  November 
11,  without  Jackson's  knowledge. 

He  captured  five  Creeks  on  the  Little  Oakfuskee,  and  burned  a  town  comprising 
thirty  houses.  The  town  of  Genalgo,  consisting  of  ninety-three  houses,  shared  the 
same  fate.  Having  arrived  at  a  point  within  five  or  six  miles  of  the  principal  Hil- 
labee  town,  where  he  was  informed  the  Indians  would  make  a  stand,  he  dismounted 
part  of  his  forces  and  prepared  to  make  a  night-attack.  This  was  the  town  from 
which  the  messenger  had  been  sent  to  Jackson  asking  peace,  and  to  which  that  mes 
senger  was  that  day  to  return.  It  was  daylight  on  the  18th  before  the  troops  reached 
the  town,  which  they  succeeded  in  surrounding  and  surprising.  Sixty  were  killed 
on  the  spot,  and  two  hundred  and  fifty-six  persons  taken  prisoners.  The  Indians 
naturally  supposed  this  to  be  Jackson's  answer  to  their  friendly  overtures,  and  from 
that  hour  fought  with  desperation,  asking  no  quarter. 

On  the  29th  of  November,  Brigadier-General  John  Floyd  fought  a  general  battle 
with  the  Creeks  at  Attasee,  some  eighteen  miles  from  the  Hickory  Ground,  on  the 
•waters  of  the  Tallapoosa,  His  force  was  composed  of  nine  hundred  and  fifty  Georgia 
militia,  between  three  and  four  hundred  friendly  Cowctas,  under  Mclntosh,  and  the 
Tookabatchees,  under  their  chief,  Mad  Dog.  These  fought  with  intrepidity  when 
incorporated  with  the  line  of  the  troops.  After  some  changes  of  plan,  caused  by 
ignorance  of  the  local  geography,  the  army  approached  the  upper  town,  where  the 
action  became  general.  "The  Indians  presented  themselves  at  every  point,  and 
fought  with  the  desperate  bravery  of  real  fanatics."  By  the  use  of  artillery  and 
the  bayonet  the  enemy  were  obliged  to  retreat  and  take  shelter  in  houses,  thickets, 


328  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

and  caves  in  a  high  bluff  on  the  river.  The  action  terminated  at  nine  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  when  the  town  was  burned.  The  loss  of  the  enemy  was  about  two 
hundred  killed,  and  four  hundred  buildings  are  estimated  to  have  been  consumed. 
Floyd's  loss  was  twenty-eight  killed  and  eighty-five  wounded. 

On  the  23d  of  December,  General  F.  L.  Claiborne,  with  a  brigade  of  volunteers 
and  a  part  of  the  Third  Regiment  of  United  States  troops,  attacked  the  Creek  town  of 
Eccanachaca,  on  the  Alabama,  about  eighty  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  Cahawba. 
Being  advised  of  his  approach,  the  Indians  were  prepared  for  him,  and  immediately 
commenced  an  attack,  but  they  were  quickly  repulsed,  with  the  loss  of  thirty  warriors 
killed. 

On  the  night  of  the  27th  of  January  a  large  body  of  Creeks  stealthily  seized  the 
sentinels,  and  then  attacked  the  army  of  General  John  Floyd,  some  forty  miles  west 
of  the  Chattahoochee  River.  They  were  perfectly  wild  with  fury,  and  rushed  to 
within  fifty  yards  of  the  artillery,  evincing  a  rash  courage  similar  to  that  which  the 
Indians  had  previously  displayed  in  the  action  against  St.  Clair.  They  were  encoun 
tered  with  firmness,  and  as  soon  as  day  dawned  were  successfully  charged  with  the 
bayonet  and  the  broadsword.  General  Floyd  gained  a  complete  victory ;  thirty- 
seven  dead  bodies  were  found  on  the  field,  of  which  fifteen  had  been  sabred.  Floyd's 
loss  was  twenty  killed  and  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  wounded. 

The  determination  with  which  the  Creeks  had  entered  into  this  war  has  hardly  a 
precedent  in  Indian  contests.  They  had  been  five  times  defeated  in  battle ;  they  had 
lost  several  hundred  men  on  the  battle-field ;  and  upwards  of  forty  of  their  towns, 
Borne  of  them  comprising  ninety  houses,  had  been  consigned  to  the  flames.  The 
Choctaws  and  Chickasaws  did  not  assist  them,  and  the  Cherokees,  being  remote, 
either  stood  entirely  aloof,  or  only  sent  out  small  parties  of  friendly  scouts  and  spies. 
A  limited  number  of  the  Creeks  themselves,  the  bribes  of  the  Cowetas  and  Tooka- 
batchees,  were  friendly  to  the  whites ;  but  the  main  body  of  the  nation  fought  as  if 
their  salvation  depended  on  defeating  the  Americans.  If,  as  may  naturally  be  con 
jectured,  they  opposed  Narvaez  and  De  Soto  in  1628  and  1641  with  this  determined 
spirit,  no  wonder  need  be  expressed  that  the  former  proceeded  no  farther  than  the 
mouth  of  the  Appalachicola,  or  that  the  troops  of  the  latter  were  driven  out  of  the 
Mississippi  Valley.  The  numerous  population  of  the  tribe,  located  in  a  genial 
climate,  in  which  all  the  productions  necessary  for  the  subsistence  of  Indians  grew 
spontaneously,  constituted  them  a  powerful  enemy.  Their  intellectual  development 
and  stability  of  character  had  also  been  promoted  by  intermixture  with  the  Scotch 
race.  It  is  not  improbable,  when  we  consider  their  heavy  losses  in  battle,  that  we 
have  never  possessed  anything  like  an  accurate  enumeration  of  their  strength. 
Major  Swan,  who  visited  the  country  as  an  official  agent  in  1791,  enumerates  fifty- 
two  towns;  and,  with  our  knowledge  of  their  fecundity  and  means  of  subsistence,  they 
could  not  well  be  estimated  at  less  than  two  hundred  souls  to  each  town,  which  would 
give  an  aggregate  population  of  ten  thousand  four  hundred.  There  could  not  have 
been  less  than  three  thousand  Creek  warriors  in  the  field  during  the  greater  portion 
of  the  years  1812  and  1813  and  a  part  of  1814.  The  tribe  appears  to  have  possessed 


POST-REVOLUTIONARY.  329 

an  active  military  element,  and  the  spirit  to  conquer  other  tribes.  According  to 
Bartram,  they  had  been  involved  in  wars  and  contests  before  they  crossed  the  Mis 
sissippi  on  their  route  to  the  present  area  of  Florida ;  and,  having  progressed  to  the 
Altamaha,  still  fighting  their  way,  they  first  "sat  down,"  to  use  their  metaphor,  at 
the  "  old  fields"  on  that  river.  While  their  council-fire  was  located  at  this  place, 
they  subdued  the  Savannas,  Ogeechees,  Wapoos,  Santees,  Yaraassees,  Utinas,  Icosans, 
P;it ii-is,  and  various  other  tribes,  always  making  it  a  rule  to  incorporate  the  remnants 
with  themselves,  and  within  the  period  of  our  own  history  they  had  thus  absorbed 
the  UcliceH  and  Natchez. 

By  a  scrutiny  of  the  official  documents  of  that  period  we  are  led  to  infer  that  the 
Creek  war  had  been  carried  on  by  spirited  and  gallant  leaders,  who  were,  however, 
deficient  in  an  accurate  knowledge  of  the  geography  of  the  country.      Military 
expeditions  were  led  into  the  interior  under  the  guidance  of  ignorant  men,  who  fre 
quently  misled  the  officers,  and  the  latter  were  occasionally  content  to  escape  from 
perilous  positions  with  the  eclat  of  a  victory  which  neither  secured  the  possession  of 
the  country  nor  humbled  the  tribe.     Tennessee,  however,  presented  an  officer  of  a 
very  different  character  in  Andrew  Jackson,  a  general  of  her  State  militia.     He 
despised  fair-weather  soldiers  and  mouthing  patriots.     His  observations  of  Indian  life 
had  given  him  better  defined  views  of  their  character,  and  he  saw  at  a  glance  that 
half-measures  would  not  do.     The  Indian  is  not  a  sensitive  man,  but  a  stoic  by  nature 
as  well  as  by  education,  and  quickly  recovers  from  calamities  which  are  not  of  long 
continuance.     The  Indian's  alertness  and  quickness  at  the  adoption  of  expedients 
must  be  opposed  by  a  similar  course  of  policy.     The  general  who  operates  against 
them  must  be  willing  and  ready  to  fight  by  night  as  well  as  by  day,  should  not 
encumber  himself  with  baggage,  must  occasionally  run  the  risk  of  losing  all  his  camp 
equipage  for  the  purpose  of  defeating  his  enemy,  and  must  endure  hardships  and 
fatigue  like  an  Indian.     Jackson's  first  march  to  and  victory  at  Talladega  taught 
him  all  this.     The  system  of  rapid  movements  and  impetuous  charges  introduced 
by  Napoleon,  which  overthrew  the  old  military  tactics  of  Europe,  also  gave  success 
to  Jackson's  operations  against  the  Indians.     His  attacks  were  quick  and  terribly 
effective. 

Notwithstanding  the  severity  of  their  punishment,  the  Creeks  inhabiting  the 
valley  of  the  Tallapoosa  maintained  a  resolute  mien,  and  even  those  of  the  town  of 
Talladega  were  unintimidated.  Very  early  in  January  (1814),  General  Jackson, 
having  been  authorized  to  march  against  the  hostile  bands,  designated  the  10th  of 
that  month  for  the  assembling  of  his  new  levies  of  volunteers,  including  cavalry 
and  infantry,  who  amounted  in  the  aggregate  to  nineteen  hundred  and  fifty  men. 
They  were  not,  however,  finally  mustered  until  the  17th.  On  the  18th  Jackson 
reached  Talladega  fort,  where  he  was  joined  by  between  two  and  three  hundred 
friendly  Indians,  of  whom  sixty-five  were  Cherokees  and  the  remainder  Creeks. 
Learning  that  the  entire  force  of  warriors  of  the  Oakfuskee,  New  Yarcau,  and 
Eufaula  towns  was  concentrated  at  a  place  called  Emuckfau,  in  a  bend  of  the 
Tallapoosa,  he  determined  to  proceed  thither.  The  march  was  a  hazardous  one, 

II— 42 


330  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

being  over  a  varied  surface  and  through  many  defiles,  which  presented  great  difficul 
ties  to  raw  and  undisciplined  troops.     On  the  20th  he  encamped  at  Enotochopco,  a 
Hillabee  village,  twelve  miles  from  Emuckfau,  where  he  was  much  chagrined  at 
ascertaining  the  geographical  ignorance  of  his  guides,  as  well  as  by  discovering  the 
insubordination  and  want  of  skill  which  became  apparent  in  his  troops.     They  were, 
however,  spirited  and  courageous  men,  and  the  following  day  he  pushed  on  with 
them  to  the  banks  of  the  Tallapoosa,  where  he  struck  a  new  and  well-beaten  trail, 
which  disclosed  his  proximity  to  the  enemy.     Late  in  the  day  he  encamped  his 
troops  in  a  square,  doubled  his  pickets,  and  made  preparations  to  reconnoitre  the 
enemy's  camp  the  same  night     At  eleven  o'clock  his  spies  returned  with  the  informa 
tion  that  the  Indians  were  encamped  in  great  force  at  the  distance  of  three  miles, 
and  either  preparing  for  a  march  or  an  attack  before  daylight.     At  six  o'clock  the 
following  morning  the  Indians  commenced  a  desperate  onslaught  on  Jackson's  left, 
both  in  front  and  in  rear,  which  was  vigorously  met     The  contest  raged  with  great 
violence  for  half  an  hour,  and  was  participated  in  by  the  most  efficient  of  the  field 
and  staff  officers,  as  well  as  by  a  reinforcement  of  infantry  which  immediately 
marched  to  the  relief  of  the  troops  attacked.     As  soon  as  it  was  sufficiently  light  to 
discern  surrounding  objects,  a  charge  was  ordered,  which  was  led  by  General  Coffee ; 
and  the  enemy,  being  routed  at  every  point,  were  pursued  with  great  slaughter  for 
two  miles.     Jackson  then  ordered  their  town  to  be  burned,  if  practicable,  but  General 
Coffee,  after  marching  thither,  deemed  it  unadvisable,  and  returned.     The  Indians 
here  evinced  some  skill  in  manoeuvring,  for  after  Coffee's  return  they  attacked  Jack 
son's  right,  thinking  to  draw  to  that  point  reinforcements  from  the  left,  which  had 
been  weakened  by  the  battle  in  the  morning ;  having  made  this  feint,  they  imme 
diately  prepared  to  renew  their  onslaught  on  the  left.     This  movement  had  been 
anticipated  by  Jackson,  who  prepared  for  it  by  ordering  a  cavalry  charge  on  the 
Indians'  left,  and  by  strengthening  his  own  left  with  a  body  of  infantry.     The  entire 
line  met  the  enemy  with  great  intrepidity,  and  after  discharging  a  few  rounds  made  a 
general  charge,  the  effect  of  which  was  immediate :  the  enemy  fled  with  precipitation, 
and  were  pursued  by  the  troops,  who  poured  upon  them  a  galling  and  destructive 
fire.     In  the  mean  time,  Coffee,  who  had  charged  the  left  of  the  Indians,  was  placed 
in  considerable  jeopardy,  some  of  his  force  not  having  joined  him,  and  a  part,  com 
prising  the  friendly  Creeks,  having  left  their  position.  •  As  soon  as  the  front  was 
relieved,  the  Creeks,  who  had  taken  part  in  the  first  charge,  rejoined  Coffee,  and 
enabled  him  to  make  another  charge,  which  accomplished  his  purpose.     The  enemy 
fled  in  confusion,  and  the  field  was  left  in  possession  of  the  Americans. 

Jackson  passed  the  night  in  a  fortified  camp,  and  on  the  23d,  at  ten  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  commenced  his  return  march  to  Camp  Strother,  whence  he  set  out  He 
encamped  on  the  Enotochopco  before  dark,  having  been  unmolested  on  his  route, 
which  lay  through  a  dangerous  defile.  Having  a  deep  creek  and  another  dangerous 
defile  before  him,  he  decided  to  avoid  it  by  making  a  detour ;  but  the  next  morning, 
while  in  the  act  of  crossing  the  creek,  the  enemy,  who  from  signs  observed  during 
the  night  had  been  expected,  began  a  furious  attack.  The  vanguard,  and  a  part  of 


POST-REVOLUTIONARY.  331 

the  flank  columns,  as  well  as  all  the  wounded,  had  passed  over,  and  the  artillery  were 
about  to  follow,  when  the  alarm-gun  was  fired.  He  refaced  his  whole  line  for  a 
backward  movement,  but  while  the  columns  were  manoeuvring  to  gain  a  position,  a 
part  of  the  rear  of  both  the  right  and  left  columns  gave  way,  causing  a  great  deal  of 
confusion.  There  then  remained  but  a  part  of  the  rear-guard,  the  artillery,  and  the 
company  of  spies,  with  which  the  rout  was  checked  and  the  attack  repulsed.  It  was 
on  this  occasion  that  Lieutenant  Armstrong  (the  late  General  Armstrong)  performed 
a  deed  of  heroic  valor  by  ascending  an  eminence  with  his  gun,  under  a  hot  fire,  and 
driving  back  the  enemy  with  volleys  of  grape-shot  This  battle  was  fought  on  the 
24th  of  January.  In  these  actions  the  loss  on  each  side  was  very  great,  and  several 
brave  officers  fell.  There  were  twenty-four  Americans  killed  and  seventy-five 
wounded,  and  the  bodies  of  one  hundred  and  eighty-nine  Indian  warriors  were  found 
on  the  field. 

The  Indians  of  the  Tallapoosa  did  not,  however,  drop  the  tomahawk,  but,  having 
determined  to  make  a  more  effective  stand,  they  assembled  on  a  peninsula  of  the 
Tallapoosa  River,  called  by  them  Tohopeka,  and  the  Horse-Shoe  by  the  whites.  On 
this  point,  surrounded  on  all  sides  but  one  by  the  deep  current  of  the  river,  one 
thousand  warriors  assembled.  Across  the  connecting  neck  of  land,  three  hundred 
and  fifty  yards  in  width,  they  had  erected  a  solid  breastwork  of  earth  from  six  to 
eight  feet  high,  which  afforded  a  perfect  covert.  This  breastwork  was  so  sinuous  in 
its  form  that  it  could  not  be  raked  even  by  a  cannon  placed  at  one  angle,  and  was  so 
drawn  that  an  approaching  enemy  would  be  exposed  to  both  a  direct  and  a  raking 
fire.  Behind  it  was  a  mass  of  logs  and  brushwood.  At  the  bottom  of  the  peninsula, 
near  the  river,  was  a  village  of  huts.  The  banks  of  the  river  were  fringed  with 
the  canoes  of  the  garrison,  so  that  no  retreat  was  practicable.  The  Indian  force 
was  too  small  to  defend  so  extensive  a  line,  but  they  felt  confident  of  their  ability  to 
hold  it 

General  Jackson,  who  approached  it  with  his  army  on  the  27th  of  March,  thought 
the  position  had  been  admirably  selected  for  defence,  and  well  fortified.  He  began 
his  approaches  by  directing  General  Coffee  so  to  occupy  the  opposite  sides  of  the 
river  with  his  mounted  men  as  to  prevent  the  Indians  from  crossing  in  canoes.  He 
then  proceeded  slowly  and  in  complete  order  to  move  towards  the  breastwork  in 
front,  at  the  same  time  opening  a  cannonade,  at  the  distance  of  one  hundred  and  fifty 
to  two  hundred  yards,  with  one  six-  and  one  three-pounder,  using  muskets  and  rifles 
where  an  opportunity  offered.  Meanwhile,  General  Coffee  sent  some  of  his  best 
swimmers  across  the  river,  who  cut  loose  and  brought  away  the  canoes  of  the  enemy. 
In  these  he  sent  over  a  party  under  Colonel  Morgan  with  orders  to  set  fire  to  the 
cluster  of  huts  at  the  bottom  of  the  bend,  and  then  to  rush  forward  and  attack  the 
Indians  behind  the  breastwork.  This  was  gallantly  done,  but  proved  ineffective. 
Jackson  then  ordered  his  troops  to  storm  the  breastwork.  Major  L.  P.  Montgomery, 
the  first  man  to  spring  upon  the  breastwork,  fell  dead.  His  men  soon  followed, 
driving  the  Indians  before  them.  No  quarter  was  asked  for,  nor  was  any  accepted 
when  offered.  They  fought  for  hours  with  desperation  from  behind  trees  and  logs, 


332  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

and  from  the  bluffs  on  the  river-bank.  Night  pat  an  end  to  the  carnage.  live 
hundred  and  fifty-seven  Indians  were  found  dead,  besides  many  more  who  found  a 
grave  at  the  bottom  of  the  river.  Jackson's  loss  was  fifty-five  killed  and  one  hun 
dred  and  forty-six  wounded.  This  was  the  finishing  blow.  In  a  few  days  fourteen 
of  the  leading  chiefs  had  submitted.  Those  of  the  conquered  tribe  who  despaired  of 
making  terms,  and  those  whose  spirit  was  not  yet  completely  crushed,  fled  to  Florida, 
and  there  sowed  the  seed  of  future  wars. 

One  of  the  striking  scenes  in  Indian  history  was  the  surrender  of  the  Creek 
chief  Weatherford.  His  father,  a  white  trader  who  married  a  Seminole  woman, 
owned  a  plantation  and  negroes,  became  noted  as  a  breeder  of  fine  horses,  and  won 
prizes  on  the  Alabama  turf.  In  his  son  William  were  united  the  features  of  the 
white  man  and  the  frame  and  complexion  of  the  Indian.  His  eyes  were  dark  and 
piercing,  and  few  could  witlistand  the  glance  of  his  fiery  anger.  The  white  men  who 
were  in  after-days  his  neighbors  speak  of  him  as  an  honorable  and  humane  man,  a 
patriot  who  had  endeavored  to  preserve  the  independence  of  his  tribe.  He  was  a 
skilful  hunter,  and  identified  himself  with  the  Indians  in  all  respects. 

At  the  time  when  Tecumseh  came  from  the  North  to  stir  up  the  Southern  tribes 
to  war,  he  was  the  most  influential  of  the  Creek  chiefs,  but,  though  in  sympathy  with 
him,  was  not  an  adherent.  But  when  the  news  came  of  the  American  disasters  at 
the  beginning  of  the  war  of  1812,  when  the  British  cruisers  were  seen  in  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico,  and  Spanish  Florida  was  acting  in  the  British  interest,  then  Weatherford 
joined  heart  and  hand  with  Tecumseh,  and  became  chief  of  the  war  party  in  South 
ern  Alabama.  His  surprise  and  capture  of  Fort  Mims,  where  he  tried  in  vain  to 
stop  the  massacre,  his  battle  with  Claiborne  in  December  following,  when  his  cele 
brated  exploit,  known  far  and  wide  as  "  Weatherford's  leap,"  occurred,  the  chief 
escaping  his  pursuers  by  spurring  his  horse  headlong  over  the  bluff  into  the  Ala 
bama,  and  his  attack  upon  General  Floyd's  camp  upon  Calabee  Creek, — all  but  a 
victory, — these  exploits  sufficiently  exhibit  the  calibre  of  the  man,  and  rank  him 
with  Philip,  Pontiac,  and  Tecumseh.  But  the  battle  of  the  Horse-Shoe  annihilated 
the  Creeks  as  a  sovereign  power,  and  Weatherford's  force  melted  away,  leaving  him 
alone  with  a  multitude  of  women  and  children  whom  the  war  had  made  orphans  and 
widows,  and  who  were  perishing  for  want  of  food. 

Then  the  chief  formed  a  resolve  worthy  of  his  high  renown.  Mounting  his 
horse,  the  same  that  had  safely  carried  him  over  the  Alabama,  he  rode  to  Jackson's 
camp.  "  How  dare  you,"  exclaimed  the  general,  in  a  furious  tone,  "  ride  up  to  my 
tent  after  having  murdered  the  women  and  children  at  Fort  Mims  ?" 

"  General  Jackson,"  replied  Weatherford,  "  I  am  not  afraid  of  you.  I  fear  no 
man,  for  I  am  a  Creek  warrior.  I  have  nothing  to  request  in  behalf  of  myself.  You 
can  kill  me  if  you  desire.  But  I  came  to  beg  you  to  send  for  the  women  and  children 
who  are  now  starving  in  the  woods.  Their  fields  and  cribs  have  been  destroyed  by 
your  people,  who  have  driven  them  to  the  woods  without  an  ear  of  corn.  I  tried  in 
vain  to  prevent  the  massacre  of  the  women  and  children  at  Fort  Mims.  I  am  now 
done  fighting.  If  I  could  fight  you  any  longer  I  would  most  heartily  do  so.  Send 


POST-REVOLUTIONARY.  333 

for  the  women  and  children.     They  never  did  you  any  harm.     But  kill  me  if  the 
white  people  want  it  done." 

A  crowd  had  gathered  about  the  tent     "  Kill  him !  kill  him  I"  cried  out  some  of 
the  soldiers,  to  whom  the  hated  name  of  Weatherford  was  associated  only  with  the 
horrors  of  Fort  Minis.     The  general  commanded  silence,  and  added,  with  great 
energy,  "  Any  man  who  would  kill  as  brave  a  man  as  this  would  rob  the  dead."    He 
then  invited  Weatherford  to  alight  and  enter  his  tent.    The  chief  did  so,  at  the  same 
time  presenting  him  with  a  deer  which  he  had  killed  on  the  way.     A  friendly  con 
versation  ensued,  in  which  were  mentioned  the  terms  upon  which  the  nation,  could  be 
saved.     "  If  you  wish  to  continue  the  war,"  Jackson  added,  "  you  are  at  liberty  to 
depart  unharmed ;  but  if  you  desire  peace  you  may  remain,  and  you  shall  be  pro 
tected."     At  the  close  of  the  interview,  Weatherford  retired  to  his  plantation  upon 
Little  River.     His  life  being  there  in  constant  danger  from  the  relatives  of  those 
who  had  perished  at  Fort  Minis,  he  withdrew  from  the  State.    When  the  war  ended, 
Wcatherford  resumed  farming  in  Monroe  County,  Alabama,  and  lived  many  years 
in  peace  with  the  white  man,  greatly  respected  for  his  many  good  qualities.    He  died 
in  1826  from  the  fatigue  caused  by  a  "  desperate  bear-hunt."  * 

The  war  with  the  Creeks  was  now  drawing  rapidly  to  a  close,  the  entire  extent 
of  the  valleys  of  the  Coosa  and  Tallapoosa,  their  strongholds,  having  been  scoured, 
and  their  ablest  chiefs  defeated.  Weatherford,  the  indomitable  Black  Warrior,  on 
whose  head  a  price  had  been  fixed,  had  been  allowed  to  return  to  his  nation  un 
harmed,  the  object  of  the  war  being  to  convince  them  that  the  counsels  of  their 
prophets  were  only  evil,  and  destructive  to  their  best  interests.  Reason  having  failed 
lo  make  them  acquainted  with  this  fact,  the  sword  was  the  only  resort  left.  Fortu 
nately  for  the  country,  this  duty  was  intrusted  to  a  man  noted  for  his  decision,  and 
who  also  possessed  a  just  conception  of  the  Indian  character,  capacity,  and  resources. 
Had  it  been  otherwise,  the  war  would  have  been  protracted  in  the  same  manner  as 
the  subsequent  contest  with  the  Seminoles  of  Florida,  and,  like  that  war,  would 
possibly  have  cost  the  treasury  millions  of  dollars. 

One  of  the  most  atrocious  acts  committed  by  the  Creeks  was  the  massacre  at  Fort 
Minis,  and  many  of  the  negroes  taken  at  that  time,  as  also  a  woman  and  her  children, 
were  now  liberated.  Tustahatchee,  king  of  the  Hickory- Ground  band,  followed  the 
example  of  Black  Warrior  by  delivering  himself  up,  and  Hillishagee,  their  prophet, 
absconded.  During  the  month  of  April  the  army  swept  like  a  resistless  whirlwind 
over  the  Creek  country,  and  by  the  early  part  of  May  all  its  operations  were  closed 
except  so  far  as  concerned  the  retention  of  garrisoned  posts. 

As  the  American  armies  acquired  better  discipline  and  greater  experience,  the 
assistance  of  Indian  auxiliaries  on  the  flanks  of  the  enemy  became  less  a  subject  of 
interest  or  apprehension,  the  most  important  tribes  in  the  South,  West,  and  North 
having  also  suffered  such  defeats  as  caused  them  to  keep  aloof  from  the  contest. 
Still,  though  defeated  whenever  they  fought  without  the  aid  of  their  British  allies, 

1  Pickett'»  History  of  Alabama. 


334  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

they  were,  as  a  mass,  unfriendly,  and  ill  concealed  their  secret  hostility  under  the 
guise  of  neutrality.  They  did  not,  however,  fail  to  rally  in  their  strength  when 
ever  the  presence  of  a  detachment  of  regular  troops  promised  them  protection.  In 
the  sharp  action  fought  by  Major  A.  H.  Holmes  on  the  4th  of  March,  1814,  within 
twenty  miles  of  the  river  Thames,  and  near  Detroit,  the  Indians  formed  a  part  of  the 
forces  which  he  had  to  encounter.  Also,  in  the  attempt  to  retake  the  fort  at  Michil- 
imackinac,  in  the  month  of  August  of  the  same  year,  the  Chippewa,  Ottawa,  Menom- 
onie,  Wmnebago,  Sac,  and  Sioux  Indians  occasioned  the  defeat  of  the  army  under 
the  orders  of  Colonel  Croghan.  The  troops  employed  on  this  service  comprised  a 
regiment  of  infantry  and  a  detachment  of  artillery,  with  a  supply  of  ordnance  and 
ammunition  adequate  to  the  reduction  of  the  place,  had  not  the  plan  of  attack  been 
ill  advised.  Instead  of  sailing  directly  for  the  harbor  and  post  located  on  this  cliff- 
crowned  Gibraltar  of  the  Lakes,  time  was  wasted  in  making  an  excursion  up  the  St. 
Mary's  Strait  and  River  for  the  purpose  of  burning  the  empty  fort  on  St.  Joseph's 
Island  and  detaching  a  party  to  plunder  the  Northwest  Factory.  This  force  likewise 
pillaged  some  private  property,  and  committed  other  acts  of  questionable  morality. 
When  the  fleet  of  Commodore  St.  Clair,  with  the  army  on  board,  made  the  white 
clifls  of  the  island,  it  manoeuvred  and  sailed  around  it,  thus  expending  some  days 
uselessly,  instead  of  promptly  entering  the  harbor  and  assaulting  the  town,  which, 
being  but  feebly  garrisoned,  would  have  been  easily  captured.  On  first  descrying 
the  fleet  the  populace  were  ia  the  wildest  confusion.  Meantime,  the  Indians  thronged 
on  to  the  island  from  the  coutiguous  shores,  filling  the  woods  which  extended  back 
of  the  fort.  On  the  margin  of  this  dark  forest  the  attack  was  made.  Major  Holmes, 
who  had  recently  displayed  such  intrepidity  in  the  engagement  on  the  river  Thames, 
landed  with  the  infantry  and  artillery,  and  led  them  successfully  through  the  paths 
which  wound  among  the  thick  foliage  of  the  undergrowth  on  that  part  of  the  island, 
deploying  his  men  on  the  open  ground  of  Dousman's  farm. 

Meantime,  Colonel  McDowell,  who  had  but  sixty  regulars  in  the  fort,  recruited  as 
many  of  the  Canadian  militia  as  he  could  muster  and  equip,  marched  out  to  Dous 
man's,  and  commenced  firing  with  a  six-pounder  from  an  eminence  which  overlooked 
the  battle-field.  Not  less  than  five  hundred  warriors  were  on  the  island,  who  opposed 
the  landing  from  their  coverts,  entirely  surrounding  the  field,  and  crouching  behind 
clumps  of  trees  on  the  plain,  from  which  they  poured  an  effective  fire.  Major 
Holmes,  as  soon  as  his  men  were  formed,  pushed  forward  with  great  gallantry, 
waving  his  sword,  and  had  advanced  some  hundred  yards,  when  he  was  shot  by  an 
Indian  who  was  concealed  behind  a  bush.  When  this  officer  fell  the  troops  faltered, 
and  then  retreated  to  the  landing-place.  Mr.  Madison,  in  his  message  of  September 
20,  1814,  observes  of  Major  Holmes,  in  speaking  of  this  expedition,  that  "  he  was  an 
officer  justly  distinguished  for  his  gallant  exploits." 

The  general  battles  of  the  Thames  and  the  Horse-Shoe  having  in  reality  broken 
up  the  Indian  combination  in  the  North  and  South,  they  played  only  a  secondary 
part  in  those  events  of  the  war  which  occurred  subsequently.  A  few  of  the  friendly 
Iroquols  valiantly  aided  General  P.  B.  Porter's  regulars  and  militia  in  the  triumphant 


POST-REVOLUTIONARY.  335 

sortie  made  from  Fort  Erie  against  the  British  camp  on  the  17th  of  September. 
There  were  also  parties  of  friendly  Creeks,  of  the  Cowetas,  under  Mclntosh,  and 
of  the  Cherokees  and  Chickasaws,  who  performed  good  service  on  the  side  of  the 
Americans.  The  hostile  Creeks,  who  had  been  expelled  from  the  Southern  plains, 
having  taken  shelter  at  Pensacola,  in  Florida,  General  Jackson  deemed  it  essential  to 
the  preservation  of  peace  on  the  frontiers  that  the  governor  of  that  town,  and  the 
commander  of  the  fort  located  there,  should  have  an  opportunity  of  making  an 
explanation  of  his  policy  in  furnishing  protection  and  supplies  to  the  Indians.  With 
this  view  he  appeared  in  that  vicinity  on  the  6th  of  November  at  the  head  of  the 
army  which  had  traversed  the  Creek  country,  and  forthwith  dispatched  a  field-officer 
to  the  town  with  a  flag,  desiring  a  conference.  The  flag  being  fired  on  by  the  cannon 
of  the  fort,  Jackson  immediately  determined  upon  storming  the  town,  and,  having 
niude  some  preliminary  reconnoissances,  he  attacked  it  with  his  entire  force  on  the 
7th.  He  was  assailed  by  a  fire  of  musketry  from  the  houses  and  surrounding  gar 
dens,  and  a  battery  of  two  guns  opened  on  his  front.  This  battery  was  immediately 
stormed  by  Captain  Laval's  company,  and,  after  sustaining  a  heavy  and  continuous 
fire  of  musketry,  the  garrison  of  the  fort  submitted  unconditionally.  The  Choctaws 
were  highly  commended  by  Jackson  for  their  bravery  on  this  occasion.  The  follow 
ing  day  the  Barrancas  fort  was  abandoned  and  blown  up  by  the  enemy,  and  Colonel 
Nichols,  the  governor,  retreated  to  the  vessels  of  the  British  squadron  lying  in  the 
bay,  which  then  put  to  sea. 

This  action  was  the  closing  event  of  the  Indian  war  in  that  quarter.  "  It  has 
convinced  the  Red  Sticks,"1  remarks  the  general,  "that  they  have  no  stronghold  or 
protection  except  in  the  friendship  of  the  United  States." 

1  This  term  is  used  in  a  figurative  sense,  to  denote  the  Southern  hostile  Indian*. 


CHAPTER   VL 

TREATIES  WITH  THE  NORTHWESTERN  TRIBES,  AND  EXPLORATIONS  OF  THEIR 
TERRITORIES— THE  CHIPPEWAS— THE  SIOUX— CESSION  OF  INDIAN  LANDS— 
CHIPPEWA  AGENCY  ESTABLISHED  AT  SAULT  STE.  MARIE. 

THE  ninth  article  of  the  treaty  of  Ghent,  signed  December  24, 1814,  left  the 
Indian  tribes  to  make  their  own  terms  with  the  United  States.  They  had  fought  in 
vain,  and  had  received  so  little  consideration  from  their  late  ally  at  the  close  of 
the  contest  that  they  were  not  even  accorded  a  national  position  in  the  treaty  of 
peace  concluded  between  the  belligerent  powers.  The  year  1815  was  the  com 
mencement  of  a  new  period  in  their  history.  Misled  by  the  false  theories  of  their 
prophets,  and  defeated  in  numerous  battles,  they  had  yet  believed  that  they  were 
Oghting  to  preserve  intact  their  ancient  territorial  limits.  They  had  lost  great  num 
bers  of  their  warriors  in  battle  the  Creeks  alone,  in  their  contests  with  Generals 
Coffee  and  Jackson,  having  suffered  to  the  extent  of  not  less  than  one  thousand  men. 
The  losses  experienced  in  battle,  by  all  the  tribes,  however,  were  small  compared 
with  those  they  suffered  from  diseases  engendered  in  camps,  superinduced  by  unsuit 
able,  bad,  or  scanty  supplies  of  food,  as  well  as  by  the  toils  and  accidents  incident  to 
forced  marches.  Fevers,  colds,  and  consumptions,  to  which  they  are  specially  liable, 
had  been  fearfully  prevalent,  and  the  smallpox  had  nearly  decimated  them.  In 
addition  to  this,  their  families  had  been  left  in  a  starving  condition  at  home.  In 
1812  the  numbers  summoned  by  the  voice  of  the  Shawnee  prophet  to  the  banks 
of  the  AVabash  were  immense.  They  abandoned  everything  for  the  purpose  of  par 
ticipating  in  this  new  revolution,  and  many  who  left  their  Western  and  Northern 
homes  on  this  errand  never  returned.  The  writer  has  walked  over  the  sites  of  entire 
villages  thus  desolated,  which  had  been  in  a  few  years  covered  by  weeds  and  a  young 
forest  growth. 

This  was  not,  however,  the  worst  of  their  misfortunes.  Their  hunting-grounds 
had  been  rendered  valueless  by  the  operations  of  the  contending  armies.  The  deer, 
elk,  and  bear  always  precede  the  Indians  to  more  dense  forests ;  the  cunning  beaver 
immediately  abandons  a  stream  into  which  he  cannot  by  gnawing  make  the  trees  fall, 
on  the  bark  of  which  he  subsists ;  the  otter,  which  lives  on  fish,  remains  for  a  longer 
period.  But  all  the  species  of  furred  animals,  whose  skins  form  the  staple  of  the 
Indian  trade,  were  greatly  diminished,  and  the  vast  region  of  country  extending 
from  38°  to  44°  north,  between  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  Rivers,  had  been  rendered 
useless  as  a  hunting-ground.  Another  result  of  the  passage  of  troops  through  remote 
parts  of  the  Indian  country  was  the  discovery  of  tracts  of  arable  land  of  great  value 
336 


POST-REVOLUTIONARY.  337 

to  the  agriculturist,  as  well  as  of  water-powers,  mines,  and  resources,  offering  tempt 
ing  inducements  to  the  mill-wright,  manufacturer,  and  miner.  Coal,  iron,  and  lead 
were  found  in  abundance,  and,  subsequently,  copper  and  gold.  War,  bad  seasons, 
and  the  depreciation  of  a  very  extended  and  inflated  paper  currency,  with  a  resulting 
decline  in  the  prices  of  all  merchantable  articles,  had  alarmed  thousands  of  persons 
in  the  Atlantic  States,  who  souglit  to  repair  their  fortunes,  or  find  a  field  for  the 
exercise  of  their  ingenuity  and  talents,  by  emigrating  to  the  West ;  so  that  when 
the  Indians  began  to  part  freely  with  their  exhausted  hunting-grounds  by  sales  to 
the  government,  the  emigrant  masses  clamored  for  new  and  ample  farms  on  these 
ceded  tracts,  where  both  they  and  their  children  might  lay  the  foundations  of  happy 
homes.  This  movement  was  the  germ  of  new  States. 

The  close  of  the  war  of  1812  not  only  ended  the  Indian  hostilities,  but  also 
initiated  a  thorough  geographical  exploration  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  the  extent, 
fertility,  and  resources  of  which  were  then  fully  ascertained.  Noble  rivers,  the 
names  of  which  had  been  for  years  known  only  by  their  connection  with  romantic 
tales  and  the  narratives  of  adventurous  exploits,  now  attracted  attention  by  the 
facilities  they  afforded  for  navigation.  The  entire  valley  seemed  to  be  one  vast  series 
of  plains,  reticulated  by  streams  which  poured  their  resistless  currents  into  the  Mex 
ican  Gulf.  These  plains,  once  the  haunts  of  uncounted  herds  of  deer,  elk,  and 
buffulo,  were  now  deserted  by  them,  and  elicited  interest  only  by  their  fertility,  and 
by  their  adaptiveness  to  the  purposes  of  agriculture. 

We  have  placed  the  commencement  of  this  era  of  emigration  in  the  year  1816, 
which  was  as  early,  indeed,  as  the  full  cessation  of  Indian  hostilities  rendered  it  safe 
for  the  emigrant  to  enter  remote  districts.  The  Creeks  had  signed  the  treaty  of  Fort 
Jackson  as  early  as  August  9,  1814,  and  they  were  followed  by  other  tribes  in  both 
the  North  and  the  South.  On  the  8th  of  September,  1815,  an  important  treaty  was 
concluded  with  the  Wyandots,  Senecas,  Shawnees,  Miamis,  Chippewas,  Ottawas,  and 
Pottawatomies,  by  which  these  tribes  were  restored  to  all  the  immunities  accorded 
them  by  the  treaty  entered  into  at  Greenville  in  1795,  and  the  three  latter  tribes 
reinvested  with  all  the  territorial  rights  which  they  possessed  at  the  outbreak  of 
Tecumseh's  war  in  1811.  Treaties  were  also  concluded  during  this  year  with  the 
Kickapoos,  Weas,  Winnebagoes,  Sacs  and  Foxes,  Sioux,  Osages,  Chickasaws,  Choc- 
taws,  and  other  tribes.  These  treaties  were  negotiated  by  commissioners  appointed 
by  the  United  States,  who  were  well  acquainted  with  the  territories,  character, 
resources,  local  history,  and  feelings  of  the  tribes.  Some  of  these  commissioners  had 
been  military  commanders,  or  had  occupied  high  civil  stations  on  the  frontiers.  No 
one  of  them  was  so  celebrated  for  his  knowledge,  experience,  and  standing  as  General 
William  Clarke,  of  St.  Louis,  the  companion  of  the  intrepid  Lewis  in  his  adventurous 
journeys  to  the  mouth  of  the  river  Columbia  in  1804,  1805,  and  1806.  He  had 
succeeded  Lewis  as  governor  of  the  Missouri  Territory  in  1806,  and  had  acquired 
the  respect  and  confidence  of  the  Southwestern  and  Western  tribes  who  were  located 
on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri  Rivers.  He  was  a  man  possessed  of 
great  sagacity,  amenity  of  manners,  and  a  comprehensive  knowledge  of  the  geography 

II— 43 


338  TVE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

of  the  country.  In  many  respects  he  was  comparable  to  Sir  William  Johnson,  who 
so  long  exercised  a  similar  power  in  the  North.  Indian  disputes  were  frequently 
referred  to  him  for  settlement  by  the  tribes  themselves,  and  the  number  of  Indian 
treaties  he  negotiated  in  the  course  of  his  long  administration  of  Indian  affairs  on 
the  frontiers  is  a  proof  of  his  abilities  in  this  department 

The  war  of  1812  on  the  Northwestern  frontiers  had  brought  into  notice  another 
man  who  was  destined  to  exercise  for  many  years  an  important  influence  on  our 
Indian  relations.  Lewis  Cass  was  a  brigadier-general  in  the  United  States  army, 
and  had  served  in  the  war  of  1812  with  great  credit  to  himstlf.  A  lawyer  by  pro 
fession,  marshal  of  the  State  of  Ohio  at  the  commencement  of  the  war,  he  united 
civil  with  military  talent,  and  on  the  conclusion  of  peace  held  the  commission  of 
commandant  of  Detroit,  succeeding  to  the  executive  chair  of  Michigan  after  the 
overthrow  of  Governor  William  Hull  and  the  subsequent  interregnum.  Great 
energy  was  required  to  revive  and  reinstate  on  their  former  basis  its  civil  and  social 
institutions.  Six  years  of  wild  wars  and  turmoils  had  left  the  Territory  without  either 
civil  or  military  organization.  It  was  a  work  of  time  to  restore  the  Indian  relations 
to  a  permanent  footing,  to  induce  the  inhabitants  to  return  to  their  old  locations,  to 
apply  the  civil  code  to  an  almost  anarchical  condition  of  society,  and,  above  all,  to 
ascertain  and  develop  the  resources  of  the  Territory. 

Michigan  had  been  a  very  strong  rallying-point  for  the  Indians  from  the  days  of 
Denonville.  It  was  visited  by  La  Salle  in  1679,  and  formal  possession  was  taken  of 
the  straits  between  Lakes  Erie  and  Huron  in  the  month  of  June,  1687,  but  Detroit 
was  not  occupied  by  an  authorized  agent  of  the  French  government  at  Quebec  until 
the  year  1701.1  One  hundred  and  twenty  years  had  served  to  spread  its  fame  and 
importance  in  Indian  wars,  Indian  trade,  and  Indian  affairs.'  But  the  hand  of  time 
had  still  left  it  a  remote  outpost,  surrounded  by  the  original  French  settlements, 
among  which  might  here  and  there  be  found  an  adventurous  American.  The  houses 
of  the  French  habltam  were  surrounded  with  cedar  palings,  as  if  to  resist  an  attack, 
and  in  their  orchards  they  raised  apple-trees  the  parent  stocks  of  which  were 
originally  brought  from  Normandy.  In  their  dress,  manners,  suavity,  nonchalance, 
gayety,  and  loyalty  to  the  governing  power,  the  French  of  Michigan  presented  a 
striking  similitude  to  the  peasantry  under  Francis  I.  and  Louis  XIII.  It  was  at 
this  ancient  seat  of  French  dominion  on  the  lakes  that  Pontiac  formed  his  confed 
eracy  in  1760  and  Tecumseh  convened  the  natives  in  1810-11.  The  failure  of  the 
latter,  stoutly  backed  as  he  was  by  the  British  army  and  navy,  convinced  the  Indians 
that  their  efforts  to  resist  the  onward  march  of  civilization  were  vain,  and  that 
education,  arts,  and  labor  must  triumph.  This  was  the  language  of  Ningwe"gon  in 
1812. 

In  1814  General  Lewis  Cass  was  appointed  governor  of  this  Territory,  the  con 
dition  of  which  has  been  shown  to  have  been  one  of  extreme  prostration.  Desolated 

1  M.  Cadillac  arrived  at  this  spot  on  the  24th  of  July,  1701,  and  immediately  commenced  clearing  the 
ground  and  preparing  to  fortify  it. 


POST-REVOLUTIONARY.  339 

by  wars,  its  inhabitants  decimated  by  appalling  murders  and  massacres,  with  but  few 
resources,  and  neither  enterprise  nor  capital,  another  such  forlorn  district  could  not 
have  been  pointed  out  in  America.     It  had  neither  roads  nor  bridges,  and  its  very 
soil  was  considered  so  worthless  that  it  was  deemed  unfit  to  be  given  in  bounty-lands 
to  the  surviving  soldiers  of  the  war  of  1812.     The  Indian  tribes  who  had  rallied 
under  Proctor  and  Tecumseh  were  still  unfriendly  and  vindictive.     By  the  interpo 
sition  of  a  friendly  hand,  Cass's  life  was  once  saved  from  a  rifle-ball  aimed  by  an 
Indian  from  behind  a  tree,  and  many  of  the  red  men  hovered  around  Detroit,  desti 
tute  of  everything,  daily  besieging  the  doors  of  the  Territorial  executive.     The  tide 
of  emigration  had  not  at  that  period  set  strongly  in  that  direction,  and  the  business 
of  the  Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs  on  that  frontier  was  for  some  years  the  most 
important  function  of  the  gubernatorial  office.     Cass  commenced  his  negotiations 
with  the  sons  of  the  forest  at  the  rapids  of  the  Maumee  on  the  29th  of  September, 
1817.     This  event  was  followed  in  1818  by  an  important  assemblage  of  various 
Algonkin  tribes  at  St.  Mary's,  near  the  sources  of  the  Maumee,  and  in  1819  by  the 
conclusion  of  an  important  treaty  with  the  Chippewas  of  Saginaw,  in  Michigan, 
which  gave  an  impetus  to  settlements  in  that  Territory.     The  wide  area  over  which 
the  Chippewa  tribe  extended,  its  multiplicity  of  bands  or  tribal  communities,  each 
of  which  professed  to  be  independent,  and  the  imperfect  knowledge  of  their  location 
and  statistics,  as  well  as  of  the  geographical  features  and  resources  of  their  territory, 
induced  Governor  Cass  to  call  the  attention  of  the  War  Department  to  their  exami 
nation.     The  cherished  policy  of  Mr.  Calhoun  being  to  keep  the  military  posts  in 
the  West  in  advance  of  the  settlements,  that  they  might  cover  the  progress  of  the 
new  emigrants  and  shield  them  from  Indian  depredations,  the  Secretary  cordially 
approved  of  this  measure ;  to  carry  out  the  objects  of  which  an  expedition  composed 
of  a  corps  of  scientific  observers,  under  the  escort  of  a  small  detachment  of  infantry, 
was  organized  at  and  despatched  from  Detroit  in  the  spring  of  1820.     This  enterprise 
first  brought  Mr.  Schoolcraft  into  the  new  field  of  observation  on  Indian  life  and 
manners.     Being  appointed  geologist  to  the  expedition,  he  became  its  historiographer, 
and  during  the  following  year  published  a  journal  of  its  progress.     The  extent  of 
Indian  hunting-grounds  traversed  was  nearly  four  thousand  miles,  and  at  only  one 
}K>int,  namely,  St.  Mary's  Falls,  at  the  lower  end  of  Lake  Superior,  was  there  any 
demonstration  of  hostile  feelings.     The  effect  of  this  extensive  exploratory  tour 
was  to  convince  the  Indians  that  a  wise  government  sought  to  ascertain  the  extent 
of  their  territory  and  its  resources,  as  well  as  to  bring  the  tribes  into  friendly 
communication  with  it.     The  Chippewas  were  found,  with  some  slight  change  of 
name,  to  occupy  the  entire  borders  of  Lakes  Huron  and  Superior,  together  with  the 
eastern  side  of  the  valley  of  the  Upper  Mississippi,  above  lat.  44°  53'  20*  north.   On 
the  west  banks,  in  about  lat.  46°,  the  frames  of  Sioux  lodges  were  still  standing 
which  had  evidently  been  but  recently  occupied.     On  the  30th  of  July  they  reached 
the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony,  between  which  and  Prairie  du  Chien,  but  nearer  to  the 
latter,  the  Sioux  inhabited  both  banks  of  the  river.    The  Sacs  and  Foxes  occupied 
the  Mississippi  Valley  between  Prairie  du  Chien  and  Bock  Island,  at  the  entrance  to 


340  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

the  river  Des  Moines.  The  Winnebagoes  were  in  possession  of  the  "Wisconsin  and 
Hock  River  Valleys.  The  Menomonies  were  scattered  along  the  Fox  River  to 
Euttes  des  Morts  and  Winnebago  Lake,  thence  quite  to  Green  Bay,  and,  with  inter 
changes  of  location  with  the  Winnebagoes,  to  Milwaukee  on  Lake  Michigan.  Some 
Pottawatomies,  Chippcwas,  and  Ottawas  were  located  at  Chicago,  as  also  in  Northern 
Illinois  and  Southern  Michigan.  Ottawas  also  lived  in  Grand  River  Valley,  as  well 
as  on  Little  Traverse  Bay,  and  the  Chippewas  on  the  peninsula  and  shores  of  Grand 
Traverse  Bay.  An  escort  of  infantry  having  accompanied  this  expedition,  the  flag 
of  the  Union  was  thus  displayed  in  regions  where  previously  it  had  seldom  or  never 
been  seen. 

The  effect  of  this  expedition  was  not  only  to  attract  tha  attention  of  the  Indians 
to  the  power  and  vigilance  of  the  government,  but  also  to  direct  popular  enterprise 
to  this  hitherto  unceded  part  of  the  Union,  the  value  and  importance  of  which  can 
already  l)e  attested  by  an  examination  of  Upper  Michigan,  Wisconsin,  Iowa,  and 
Minnesota. 

During  the  exploration  several  instances  were  observed  of  the  Indian  mode  of 
communicating  ideas  by  pictographic  inscriptions  on  scrolls  of  bark.  Statistics  of 
their  population  and  trade  were  obtained,  and  knowledge  was  acquired  of  their 
manners  and  customs,  feelings  and  disposition.  One  of  the  peculiar  customs  observed 
while  in  the  Dakota  country  was  that  of  offering  the  first  ears  of  the  green  corn  to 
the  Great  Spirit,  of  which  ceremony  the  party  were,  by  permission  of  the  chiefs, 
allowed  to  be  spectators. 

In  the  Chippewa  territories,  extending  from  the  precincts  of  Rock  Island  to  the 
sources  of  the  Mississippi,  the  ruling  power  was  found  to  be  exercised  by  certain 
totemic  families,  who  claimed  the  right  by  descent.  This  right,  however,  was  ascer 
tained  to  be  nugatory  when  not  supported  by  the  popular  voice  of  the  clans,  which 
voice  virtually  bestowed  upon  this  rude  government  all  the  force  of  a  representative 
system.  The  ancient  seat  of  the  Chippewas,  at  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  at  the  lower  end  of 
Lake  Superior,  had  for  its  ruling  chief  Shingabawassin,  a  tall,  well-made,  grave 
man,  who  possessed  an  easy,  dignified,  and  pleasing  manner.  The  Indians  residing 
on  the  upper  shores  of  the  lake  were  ruled  by  a  chief  called  Pezhikee,  or  Buffalo, 
and  Sappa.  At  Sandy  Lake,  on  the  Upper  Mississippi,  Katawabeda,  Babisikun- 
dabi,  and  Gueule  Plat  were  the  presiding  chiefs.  The  Mendawakantons,  or  Dakotas 
of  the  River,  acknowledged  the  government  of  the  younger  Wabasha.  The  Win 
nebagoes  were  ruled  by  De  Corrie  and  Tshoop,  the  quatre  jambes,  or  "  Four  Legs,"  of 
the  French.  The  Pottawatomies  acknowledged  the  sway  of  Topinabee,  an  aged  man, 
who  had  signed  the  treaty  of  peace  concluded  at  Greenville  by  General  Wayne  in 
1795.  At  Grand  River  presided  the  Ottawa  chief  Nawagizhi,  or  Noon-Day ;  at 
Grand  Traverse  Bay,  Aishquagonabi,  or  the  Feather  of  Honor ;  and  at  the  Ottawa 
towns  of  L'Arbre  Croche,  the  very  old  chief  Nishcaudjinine,  or  the  Angry  Man, 
and  Pauskooziegun,  or  the  Smoker. 

The  Indian  government,  though  founded  on  certain  established  customs  and  pre 
scriptions,  was  largely  controlled  by  popular  opinion,  which  changed  with  the  passage 


POST-REVOLUTIONARY.  341 

of  time  and  the  occurrence  of  events.  Although  the  totemic  sovereignty  was 
hereditary,  yet  among  most  of  the  tribes  the  tribal  succession  could  be  set  aside  at 
any  time  when  it  was  thought  necessary  to  reward  with  the  chieftaincy  bravery  on 
the  war-path,  great  energy  of  character,  talent  as  a  speaker,  or  skill  as  a  magician, 
and  the  tribes  were  thenceforth  ruled  by  the  newly-installed  chief. 

Treaties  were  concluded  with  the  Indians  at  L'Arbre  Croche  and  at  Sault  Ste. 
Marie.  An  incident  occurred  at  the  latter  place  which  for  a  time  threatened  serious 
difficulty.  The  negotiations  for  this  treaty  were  begun  about  the  middle  of  June, 
at  which  period  of  the  year,  the  hunting  season  being  ended,  the  Indians  crowd  to 
the  towns  nearest  the  frontiers,  to  enjoy  themselves  in  dancing,  feasting,  and  the 
celebration  of  ceremonies.  Only  four  or  five  years  having  elapsed  since  the  con 
clusion  of  the  war,  there  was  still  a  vivid  feeling  of  hostility  existing  among  them 
towards  the  Americans.  It  chanced  that  among  the  large  number  assembled  was  a 
war-captain  who  had  led  the  Chippewas  into  action, — an  ambitious  chief  called 
Sassaba,  of  the  reigning  totem  of  the  Crane,  whose  brother  had  been  killed  fighting 
beside  Tecumseh  at  the  battle  of  the  Thames.  An  attempt  was  made  to  deter  Cass's 
party  from  carrying  the  American  flag  through  the  Chippewa  country.  Sassaba, 
having  broken  up  a  public  council,  raised  the  British  flag  on  a  brow  of  the  height 
where  the  Indians  were  encamped,  and  it  was  observed  that  at  the  same  moment 
women  and  children  were  precipitately  sent  from  the  lodges  across  the  river  to  the 
Canada  shore.  Strong  apprehensions  were  entertained  of  a  hostile  encounter:  the 
party  grasped  their  rifles  and  stood  ready  for  conflict.  General  Cass,  by  his  knowl 
edge  of  the  Indian  character,  and  his  self-possession  and  decision,  disconcerted  their 
plans  and  averted  the  danger.  Unarmed,  and  accompanied  only  by  an  interpreter, 
he  ascended  the  elevated  plain  on  which  the  Indians  were  encamped,  and,  proceeding 
to  the  lodge  of  Sassaba,  pulled  down  the  flag,  and  addressed  the  Indians  in  terms  of 
just  reproof  for  this  act  of  bravado.  This  rebuke  was  received  without  any  demon 
stration  of  hostility.  On  the  following  day  negotiations  were  renewed,  and  a  treaty 
was  concluded,  which  renewed  an  old  grant  originally  made  to  the  French  by  a  ces 
sion  of  territory  four  miles  square. 

When  the  French  traders  and  missionaries  first  visited  the  head  of  Lake  Superior, 
which  event  may  be  placed  as  early  as  the  year  1620,  the  Chippewas  and  Sioux  were 
at  war.  The  most  ancient  local  traditions,  both  of  the  red  and  the  white  men,  repre 
sent  the  Chippewas  to  have  migrated  from  the  east  towards  the  west,  and  to  have 
conquered  certain  Indian  tribes,  from  whom  they  wrested  the  territories  lying  west  of 
Lake  Superior.  Traditional  evidence  attesting  the  early  existence  of  hostility  between 
these  two  prominent  tribes  was  obtained  in  1820  during  die  expedition  through  their 
territory  to  the  sources  of  the  Mississippi.  The  history  of  the  contest,  as  well  as  its 
origin  and  cause,  was  investigated  as  a  preliminary  step  towards  effecting  a  pacifica 
tion  between  the  contending  tribes.  In  an  official  communication  to  the  government, 
Governor  Cuss  makes  the  following  observations  regarding  this  hereditary  war,  which 
are  worthy  of  notice,  not  only  as  embodying  the  views  of  aged  and  respectable  chiefs 
then  living,  with  whom  he  conversed,  but  also  because  they  reveal  the  existence  of  a 


342  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

means  of  communication  between  the  Indians  through  the  interchange  of  ideographic 
notes  by  devices  inscribed  on  slips  of  the  inner  bark  of  the  paper-birch : 

"  The  Chippewas  and  Sioux  are  hereditary  enemies,  and  Charlevoix  says  they 
were  at  war  when  the  French  first  reached  the  Mississippi.  I  endeavored  when 
among  them  to  learn  the  cause  which  first  excited  them  to  war,  and  the  time  when  it 
commenced.  But  they  can  give  no  rational  account.  An  intelligent  Chippewa  chief 
informed  me  that  the  disputed  boundary  between  them  was  a  subject  of  little  im 
portance,  and  that  the  question  respecting  it  could  be  easily  adjusted.  He  appeared 
to  think  that  they  fought  because  their  fathers  fought  before  them.  This  war  has 
been  waged  with  various  success,  and  in  its  prosecution  instances  of  courage  and  self- 
devotion  have  occurred  within  a  few  years  which  would  not  have  disgraced  the  pages 
of  Grecian  or  of  Roman  history.  Some  years  since,  mutually  weary  of  hostilities, 
the  <*hiefe  of  both  nations  met  and  agreed  upon  a  truce.  But  the  Sioux,  disregarding 
the  solemn  compact  which  they  had  formed,  and  actuated  by  some  sudden  impulse, 
attacked  the  Chippewas,  and  murdered  a  number  of  them.  Babisikundabi,  the  old 
Chippewa  chief,  who  descended  the  Mississippi  with  us,  was  present  upon  this  occa 
sion,  and  his  life  was  saved  by  the  intrepidity  and  generous  self-devotion  of  a  Sioux 
chief.  This  man  entreated,  remonstrated,  and  threatened.  He  urged  his  country 
men,  by  every  motive,  to  abstain  from  any  violation  of  their  faith,  and,  when  he 
found  his  remonstrances  useless,  he  attached  himself  to  this  Chippewa  chief  and 
avowed  his  determination  of  saving  or  perishing  with  him.  Awed  by  his  intrepidity, 
the  Sioux  finally  agreed  that  he  should  ransom  the  Chippewa,  and  he  accordingly 
applied  to  this  object  all  the  property  he  owned.  He  then  accompanied  the  Chippewa 
on  his  journey  until  he  considered  him  safe  from  any  parties  of  the  Sioux  who  might 
be  disposed  to  follow  him. 

"The  Sioux  are  much  more  numerous  than  the  Chippewas,  and  would  have  over 
powered  them  long  since  had  the  operations  of  the  former  been  consentaneous.  But 
they  are  divided  into  so  many  different  bands,  and  are  scattered  over  such  an  exten 
sive  country,  that  their  efforts  have  no  regular  combination. 

"  Believing  it  equally  consistent  with  humanity  and  sound  policy  that  these  border 
contests  should  not  be  suffered  to  continue,  satisfied  that  you  would  approve  of  any 
plan  of  pacification  which  might  be  adopted,  and  feeling  that  the  Indians  have  a  full 
portion  of  moral  and  physical  evils  without  adding  to  them  the  calamities  of  a  war 
which  had  no  definite  object  and  no  probable  termination,  on  our  arrival  at  Sandy 
Lake  I  proposed  to  the  Chippewa  chiefs  that  a  deputation  should  accompany  us  to 
the  mouth  of  the  St.  Peter's  with  a  view  to  establish  a  permanent  peace  between 
them  and  the  Sioux.  The  Chippewas  readily  acceded  to  this  proposition,  and  ten  of 
their  principal  men  descended  the  Mississippi  with  us. 

"As  we  approached  St.  Peter's,  our  Chippewa  friends  became  cautious  and 
observing.  The  flag  of  the  United  States  was  flying  upon  all  our  canoes,  and,  thanks 
to  the  character  which  our  nation  acquired  by  the  events  of  the  last  war,  I  found  in 
our  progress  through  the  whole  Indian  country,  after  we  had  once  left  the  great  lines 
of  communication,  that  this  flag  was  a  passport  which  rendered  our  journey  safe. 


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POST-REVOLUTIONARY.  343 

We  consequently  felt  assured  that  no  wandering  party  of  tlie  Sioux  would  attack 
even  their  enemies  while  under  our  protection.  But  the  Chippewas  could  not  appre 
ciate  the  influence  which  the  American  flag  would  have  upon  other  nations ;  nor  is  it 
probable  that  they  estimated  with  much  accuracy  the  motives  which  induced  us  to 
assume  the  character  of  an  umpire. 

"  The  Chippewas  landed  occasionally,  to  examine  whether  any  of  the  Sioux  had 
recently  visited  that  quarter.  In  one  of  these  excursions  a  Chippewa  found  in  a 
conspicuous  place  a  piece  of  birch  bark,  made  flat  by  being  fastened  between  two 
sticks  at  each  end,  and  about  eighteen  inches  long  by  fifteen  broad.  This  bark  con 
tained  the  answer  of  the  Sioux  nation  to  the  proposition  which  had  been  made  by  the 
Chippewas  for  the  termination  of  hostilities.  So  sanguinary  has  been  the  contest 
between  these  tribes  that  no  personal  communication  could  take  place.  Neither  the 
sanctity  of  the  office  nor  the  importance  of  the  message  could  protect  the  ambassadors 
of  either  party  from  the  vengeance  of  the  other.  Some  time  preceding,  the  Chip 
pewas,  anxious  for  the  restoration  of  peace,  had  sent  a  number  of  their  young  men 
into  these  plains  with  a  similar  piece  of  bark,  upon  which  they  had  represented  their 
desire.  The  scroll  of  bark  had  been  left  hanging  to  a  tree  in  an  exposed  situation, 
and  had  been  found  and  taken  away  by  a  party  of  the  Sioux. 

"  The  propositions  had  been  examined  and  discussed  in  the  Sioux  villages,  and  the 
bark  which  we  found  contained  their  answer.  The  Chippewa  who  had  prepared  the 
bark  for  his  tribe  was  with  us,  and  on  our  arrival  at '  t.  Peter's,  finding  it  was  lost,  I 
requested  him  to  make  another.  He  did  so,  and  produced  what  I  have  no  doubt  was 
a  per  feet  fac-similc. 

"The  Chippewas  explained  to  us  with  great  facility  the  intention  of  the  Sioux, 
and  apparently  with  as  much  readiness  as  if  some  common  character  had  been 
established  between  them. 

"  The  junction  of  the  St.  Peter's  with  the  Mississippi,  where  a  principal  part  of 
the  Sioux  reside,  was  represented,  and  also  the  American  fort,  with  a  sentinel  on 
duty,  and  the  flag  flying.  The  principal  Sioux  chief  is  named  the  Six,  alluding,  I 
believe,  to  the  bands  or  villages  under  his  influence.  To  show  that  he  was  not  present 
at  the  deliberations  upon  the  subject  of  peace,  he  was  represented  upon  a  smaller 
piece  of  bark,  which  was  attached  to  the  other.  To  identify  him,  he  was  drawn  with 
six  heads  and  a  large  medal.  Another  Sioux  chief  stood  in  the  foreground,  holding 
the  pipe  of  peace  in  his  right  hand  and  his  weapons  in  his  left.  Even  we  could  not 
misunderstand  that.  Like  our  own  eagle,  with  the  olive-branch  and  arrows,  he  was 
desirous  of  peace  but  prepared  for  war. 

"  The  Sioux  party  contained  fifty-nine  warriors,  and  this  number  was  indicated 
by  fifty-nine  guns,  which  were  drawn  upon  one  corner  of  the  bark.  The  only 
subject  which  occasioned  any  difficulty  in  the  interpretation  of  the  Chippewas  was 
owing  to  an  incident  of  which  they  were  ignorant.  The  encampment  of  our  troops 
had  been  removed  from  the  low  grounds  upon  the  St.  Peter's  to  a  high  hill  upon  the 
Mississippi :  two  forts  were  therefore  drawn  upon  the  bark ;  and  the  solution  of  this 
enigma  could  not  be  discovered  till  our  arrival  at  St.  Peter's. 


344  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

"  The  effect  of  the  discovery  of  this  bark  upon  the  minds  of  the  Chippewas  was 
visible  and  immediate.  Their  doubts  and  apprehensions  appeared  to  be  removed, 
and  during  the  residue  of  the  journey  their  conduct  and  feelings  were  completely 
changed. 

"  The  Chippewa  bark  was  drawn  in  the  same  general  manner,  and  Sandy  Lake, 
the  principal  place  of  their  residence,  was  represented  with  much  accuracy.  To 
remove  any  doubt  respecting  it,  a  view  was  given  of  the  old  Northwest  establishment, 
situated  upon  its  shore,  and  now  in  the  possession  of  the  American  Fur  Company. 
No  proportion  was  preserved  in  their  attempt  at  delineation.  One  mile  of  the  Mis 
sissippi,  including  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Peter's,  occupied  as  much  space  as  the  whole 
distance  to  Sandy  Lake,  nor  was  there  anything  to  show  that  one  part  was  nearer  to 
the  spectator  than  another ;  yet  the  object  of  each  party  was  completely  obtained. 
Speaking  languages  radically  different  from  each  other  (for  the  Sioux  constitute  one 
of  three  grand  divisions  into  which  the  early  French  writers  have  arranged  the 
aborigines  of  our  country,  while  the  Chippewas  are  a  branch  of  what  they  call 
Algonkins),  and  without  any  conventional  character  established  between  them,  these 
tribes  thus  opened  a  communication  upon  the  most  important  subject  which  could 
occupy  their  attention.  Propositions  leading  to  a  pectce  were  made  and  accepted,  and 
the  simplicity  of  the  mode  could  only  be  equalled  by  the  distinctness  of  the  repre 
sentations  and  by  the  ease  with  which  they  were  understood. 

"  The  Sioux  language  is  probably  one  of  the  most  barren  which  is  spoken  by  any 
of  our  aboriginal  tribes.  Colonel  Leavenworth,  who  made  considerable  proficiency 
in  it,  calculated,  I  believe,  that  the  number  of  words  did  not  exceed  one  thousand. 
They  use  more  gestures  in  their  conversation  than  any  Indians  I  have  seen,  and  this 
is  a  necessary  result  of  the  poverty  of  their  language." 

Reference  has  been  already  made  to  the  immigration  which  commenced  after 
the  close  of  the  war  of  1814.  Such  a  transfer  of  population  had  never  then  been 
known  to  have  occurred.  In  all  other  countries,  prior  to  this  era,  civilization  had 
proceeded  with  slow  and  measured  steps,  but  here  it  moved  forward  with  such  rapid 
strides  that  the  expedition  of  the  Argonauts  and  the  march  of  the  Huns  into  Europe 
sink  into  insignificance  when  contrasted  with  it.  Unlike  those  efforts,  it  was  not  a 
hostile  inroad  backed  by  the  spear  and  the  sword,  but  a  peaceful  movement  of  agri 
culturists,  artisans,  and  artists.  The  plough,  the  hammer,  the  sickle,  and  the  hoe 
were  the  means  of  extending  this  vast  empire,  which  was  conquered  in  a  very  short 
period.  Ohio,  Kentucky,  Tennessee,  and  Louisiana  were  occupied,  and  entered  the 
Union  at  an  early  day,  though  not  without  some  little  delay ;  but  Indiana,  Missis 
sippi,  Illinois,  Alabama,  and  Missouri  seemed  to  spring  into  existence  as  if  by  magic, 
and  were  admitted  into  the  confederacy  within  six  years  after  the  conclusion  of  the 
treaty  of  Ghent.  Owing  to  this  cause,  the  demands  made  on  the  Indians  for  new 
territory  were  continuous,  and  the  circle  of  civilization  was  constantly  expanding, 
while  that  of  the  hunter  was  proportionally  contracting.  It  would  be  anything  but 
a  light  task  to  trace  the  resulting  sequence  of  treaties,  cessions,  annuities,  and  stipu 
lations  for  the  payment  of  coin,  merchandise,  seeds,  implements,  and  cattle  to  the 


POST-REVOLUTIONARY.  345 

savage  in  return  for  his  land,  but  while  any  section  of  their  territories  abounded  in 
game  the  Indians  elected  to  retire  thither,  and  bestowed  but  little  attention  on  either 
grazing  or  agriculture.  There  was,  therefore,  a  singular  concurrence  in  the  desire  of 
the  emigrants  to  buy  and  in  the  willingness  of  the  Indians  to  sell  their  lands. 

Some  of  these  treaties  merit  notice  on  account  of  the  wide-spread  and  beneficial 
influence  they  exercised.     In  the  month  of  August,  1821,  the  Pottawatomies,  Chip- 
pewas,  and  Ottawas,  of  Illinois  and  Western  Michigan,  having  been  summoned  to 
attend  a  council  at  Chicago,  about  three  thousand  persons  assembled  at  that  place. 
On  the  17th  of  that  month  the  public  conferences  were  opened  with  the  chiefs,  when 
the  commissioners  laid  before  them  the  business  for  the  transaction  of  which  the 
council  had  been  convened.     The  venerable  chief  Topinabee,  who  had  been  present 
at  Greenville  in  1795,  where  he  signed  the  treaty  then  concluded,  and  who  had  also 
appended  his  name  to  that  formed  at  the  rapids  of  the  Maumee  in  1817,  was  the 
principal  personage  among  the  sachems  and  counsellors.     The  most  conspicuous 
speaker  was  Metea,  a  Pottawatomie,  from  the  Wabash,  whose  tall  and  slender  person 
was  disfigured  by  a  withered  arm,  and  whose  sullen  dignity  of  manners  was  relieved 
by  sparkling  black  eyes,  a  good  voice,  and  ready  utterance.     He  was  the  popular 
speaker  on  this  occasion,  and,  as  he  possessed  considerable  reflective  powers,  his 
opinions  and  sentiments  may  perhaps  be  regarded  as  fairly  representing  those  of  the 
Algonkin  tribes  of  his  day.     "  My  father,"  he  said,  addressing  the  delegated  authority 
of  the  government,  "  you  know  that  we  first  came  to  this  country  a  long  time  ago, 
and  when  we  sat  ourselves  down  upon  it  we  met  with  a  great  many  hardships  and 
difficulties.     Our  country  was  then  very  large,  but  now  it  is  dwindled  to  a  small  spot, 
and  you  wish  to  purchase  that.     This  has  caused  us  much  reflection,  and  we  bring 
all  our  chiefs  and  warriors  and  families  to  hear  you. 

"  Since  you  first  came  among  us  we  have  listened  with  an  attentive  ear  to  your 
words,  we  have  hearkened  to  your  counsels.  Whenever  you  have  had  a  favor  to  ask 
of  us  our  answer  has  been  invariably  yes ! 

"  A  long  time  has  passed  since  we  came  upon  these  lands.  Our  old  people  have 
all  sunk  into  their  graves ;  they  had  sense.  We  are  all  young  and  foolish,  and 
would  not  do  anything  they  could  not  approve  if  living.  We  are  fearful  to  offend 
their  spirits  if  we  sell  our  lands.  We  are  fearful  to  offend  you  if  we  do  not.  We 
do  not  know  how  we  can  part  with  the  land. 

"  Our  country  was  given  to  us  by  the  Great  Spirit  to  hunt  upon,  to  make  corn 
fields  to  live  on,  and,  when  life  is  over,  to  spread  down  our  beds  upon  and  lie  down. 
That  Spirit  would  never  forgive  us  if  we  sold  it  When  you  first  spoke  to  us  at  St. 
Mary's  we  said  we  had  a  little  land,  and  sold  you  a  piece.  But  we  told  you  we  could 
spare  no  more.  Now  you  ask  us  again.  You  are  never  satisfied.  .  .  . 

"  Take  notice,  it  is  a  small  piece  of  land  where  we  now  live.  It  has  been  wasting 
away  ever  since  the  white  people  became  our  neighbors.  We  have  now  hardly 
enough  to  cover  the  bones  of  our  tribe." 

The  discussions  of  the  conference  were  principally  sustained  by  Topinabee,  Metea, 
Metawa,  and  Keewaygooehkum,  with  more  spirit,  freedom,  and  justice  of  reasoning 

n— 44 


34G  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

than  the  Indians  generally  evince.  Full  two  weeks  were  devoted  to  the  discussion 
of  the  treaty,  which  was  finally  signed  on  the  20th  of  the  month.  By  it  these 
nations  ceded  five  millions  of  acres  lying  within  the  southern  boundaries  of  Michi 
gan,  but  from  this  tract  four  hundred  and  eighty-four  square  miles  were  reserved  for 
the  Indians.  A  permanent  annuity  of  one  thousand  dollars  in  coin  was  granted,  as 
also  a  limited  annuity  of  fifteen  hundred  dollars  per  annum,  which  was  designed  to 
be  used  for  the  promotion  of  agriculture  and  the  advancement  of  the  useful  arts. 

The  exploratory  expedition  through  the  Great  Lakes  to  the  sources  of  the 
Mississippi  in  a  few  years  led  to  the  introduction  of  an  agency  among  the  widely- 
dispersed  Chippewa  nation  on  that  frontier.  Owing  to  the  rapid  establishment  of 
settlements  in  the  valley  of  the  Wabash,  the  Indian  tribes  inhabiting  it  found  the 
middle  and  lower  parts  of  it,  which  they  had  reserved  for  hunting-grounds,  of  little 
or  no  value.  As  early  as  the  year  1820  the  Kickapoo  and  Wea  tribes  entered  into 
treaty  stipulations  with  the  agent  at  Vinccnnes  by  which  they  ceded  their  reser 
vations  and  transferred  their  interests  in  consideration  of  annuities  to  be  paid  to 
them  at  locations  farther  south  and  west.  The  Miamis  residing  on  the  head- waters 
of  the  Wabash  had  for  many  years  reported  themselves  to  and  received  their  annu 
ities  from  the  superintendent  of  the  agency  at  Fort  Wayne.  The  old  Vincennes 
agency  being  no  longer  necessary,  the  President,  by  virtue  of  the  power  vested  in 
him  to  remove  such  agencies  to  new  fields  of  duty,  in  the  spring  of  1822  transferred 
it  to  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  at  the  outlet  of  Lake  Superior,  and  appointed  Mr.  School- 
craft  as  agent,  with  directions  to  establish  an  intercourse  with  the  Chippewa  nation. 
This  officer  accompanied  a  detachment,  comprising  a  full  battalion  of  the  Second 
Regiment  of  Infantry,  to  that  remote  position,  arriving  there  on  the  6th  of  July. 
Fort  Brady  was  erected  at  this  point.  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  an  ancient  seat  of  the  Chip- 
pewas,  had  been  occupied  by  the  French  as  early  as  1644,  and  became  the  site  of  one 
of  the  earliest  Jesuit  missions.  It  was  from  this  point  that  D'Ablon  and  Marquette 
had  at  successive  periods  explored  the  country  around  Lake  Superior,  and  the  latter 
returned  from  the  shores  of  the  Great  Lake  to  this  place  prior  to  the  establishment 
of  the  mission  at  Point  St.  Ignace  and  Michilimackinac.  At  the  period  of  the 
capture  of  Quebec  and  of  the  occupation  of  Canada  by  the  British,  in  1760,  the 
missionary  operations  had  been  transferred  to  another  locality,  but  from  the  narrative 
of  Alexander  Henry's  visit  thither  in  1760  we  learn  that  a  military  post  was  still 
maintained  there,  to  protect  the  operations  of  the  Indian  traders  and  to  preserve 
general  friendly  relations  with  this  branch  of  the  ATgonkin  family  of  tribes.  The 
accession  of  the  United  States  to  the  sovereign  power  in  this  part  of  the  Union  was 
greatly  retarded.  When  the  Lake  posts  were  surrendered  in  1796,  after  Wayne's 
campaign,  the  American  flag  replaced  that  of  St.  George  at  Michilimackiuac,  but  the 
authority  of  the  republic  was  not  acknowledged  at  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  and  in  1806  Pike 
found  the  entire  Indian  trade  in  the  hands  of  British  factors.  The  St.  Mary's  River 
and  Lake  Superior,  indeed,  formed  the  line  of  demarcation  between  the  British 
colonies  and  the  United  States,  agreeably  to  the  original  treaty  of  1783,  which  was 
reaffirmed  by  that  of  Ghent  in  1814,  but  the  line  remained  unsurveyed,  and  conse- 


POST-REVOLUTIONARY.  347 

quently  many  portions  were  disputed.     Major  Holmes,  who  visited  the  place  in 
August,  1814,  finding  that  the  Northwest  Company,  whose  factory  was  situated  at 
the  foot  of  the  falls,  on  the  north  shore,  was  exerting  an  influence  adverse  to  the 
United  States,  destroyed  the  establishment     The  large  private  trading  establishment 
of  John  Johnston,  Esq.,  a  gentleman  from  the  north  of  Ireland,  located  on  the 
opposite  or  American  shore  of  the  falls,  suffered  severely  at  the  same  time, — an 
impression  prevailing  that  it  was  either  connected  with  the  Northwest  Factory,  or 
that  an  unfriendly  feeling  was  generated  against  the  Union  among  the  Chippewas, 
over  whom  Mr.  Johnston  had  much  influence.     It  was  not  until  1816  that  Congress 
perceived  that  it  was  necessary  to  the  preservation  of  peace  on  the  frontiers  to  pass 
an  act  placing  this  trade  exclusively  under  the  control  of  Americans,  and  forbidding 
its  being  carried  on  by  British  subjects,  or  the  employment  of  British  capital  therein. 
The  purpose  contemplated  by  this  measure  was  one  which  required  time  to  accom 
plish.     The  Indians,  being  attached  to  the  British  rule,  were  slow  to  give  their 
confidence  to  Americans. 

The  first  important  enterprise  in  connection  with  this  trade  was  that  of  John 
Jacob  Astor,  of  New  York,  who  visited  Montreal  in  1816,  and  purchased  all  the 
property,  consisting  of  trading-houses,  boats,  etc.,  belonging  to  the  Northwest  Com 
pany,  located  between  St.  Joseph's  Island  and  the  parallel  of  49°  north  latitude. 
He  organized  the  American  Fur  Company,  which  established  its  central  depot  and 
place  of  outfit  at  Michilimackinac.  An  important  feature  in  the  inauguration  of 
this  new  commercial  enterprise  was  that  the  Canadian  boatmen,  interpreters,  clerks, 
and  subordinates  employed  by  the  company  were  precisely  the  same  persons  who  had 
previously  served  the  Northwest  Company.  The  feelings  of  the  Indians  were  not 
easily  changed,  and  they  were  deeply  prejudiced  against  the  American  character. 
As  an  illustration  of  this  feeling,  we  may  mention  that  when  Generals  Brown  and 
Macomb  came  to  this  place  to  reconnoitre  it,  in  1818,  and  were  gratifying  their  taste 
by  a  short  exploratory  trip  on  Lake  Superior,  their  boat  was  fired  on  by  Indians 
above  the  falls.  So  late  as  the  year  1820,  as  we  have  seen,  the  Chippewas,  from  their 
ancient  camping-ground  on  the  American  side  of  the  river,  attempted  to  resist  the 
passage  of  the  exploring  expedition  into  their  country. 

It  was  not,  therefore,  an  ordinary  task  to  induce  this  important  tribe  to  acknowl 
edge  fealty  to  the  American  government.  Firmness  of  purpose,  combined  with 
mildness  of  manner,  was  eminently  necessary.  The  establishment  of  an  agency,  a 
smithy,  and  an  armorer's  shop,  the  supply  of  food  to  them  in  their  necessity,  and  the 
bestowal  of  presents,  were  important  means.  The  display  of  so  considerable  a  force 
on  the  frontier  as  the  garrison  of  Fort  Brady  enabled  the  agent  to  act  efficiently. 
By  acting  in  concurrence  with  the  military,  an  effective  controlling  power  was  estab 
lished.  Murderers  of  white  men  were  demanded  from  the  Indians,  the  country  was 
cleared  of  freed  men,  or  discharged  boatmen,  who  had  taken  up  a  permanent  resi 
dence  among  the  Indians,  and  none  but  licensed  traders,  with  their  boatmen,  were 
permitted  to  pass  into  the  country.  Ardent  spirits  were  excluded.  The  remote 
chiefs  soon  began  to  visit  the  agency.  The  Indians  are  very  fond  of  making  visits 


348 


THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


to  distant  parts  of  the  country,  and  are  always  gratified  with  the  comity  and  cere 
mony  of  diplomatic  attention.  The  pacific  results  of  this  intercourse  soon  began  to 
appear. 

The  principal  chief  at  Sault  Stc.  Marie  was  a  tall  and  dignified  man,  called  Shin- 
gabawassin,  a  term  used  to  designate  a  species  of  abraded  stones  found  on  the  lake 
shores,  which  assume  various  imitative  forms  and  are  connected  in  their  minds  with 
magical  influences.  His  armorial  badge  was  the  Crane  totem,  the  distinguishing 
mark  of  the  reigning  clan.  Shingabawassin  had  in  his  youth  been  on  the  war-path, 
but  he  was  at  this  period  principally  respected  for  his  prudence  and  wisdom  in 
council.  He  was  about  six  feet  three  inches  in  height,  straight  in  form,  having  a 
Roman  cast  of  countenance,  and  mild  manners ;  he  was  a  good  speaker,  but  prone  to 
repetition.  He  had  three  brothers,  likewise  chiefs,  and  a  large  retinue  of  cousins- 
german  and  other  relatives,  who  generally  followed  him.  The  attainment  of  his  good 
will  insured  the  friendship  of  the  tribe,  through  whom  an  extensive  influence  was 
established  with  the  interior  bands. 


- 


' 


CHAPTER    VII. 

EMIGRATION  OP  THE  EASTERN    CHEROKEES   SANCTIONED— TREATIES  WITH  THE 
SOUTHERN  TRIBES— INDIAN  BUREAU  ORGANIZED. 

A  GENERAL  peace  was  concluded  with  the  Cherokee  nation  on  the  14th  of  Sep 
tember,  1816. 

As  early  as  the  year  1808  the  project  of  drawing  a  dividing  line  between  the 
upper  and  lower  bands  of  the  Cherokees  was  broached  in  this  nation.  The  idea 
promulgated  was  to  erect  lines  of  demarcation  between  the  hunter  bands  and  those 
who  wished  to  pursue  agriculture  and  adopt  a  more  regular  form  of  government.  A 
deputation  of  both  parties  was  sent  to  Washington  to  obtain  an  interview  with  the 
President,  and,  as  they  clearly  foresaw  the  impracticability  of  effecting  their  object 
while  they  remained  in  their  existing  location,  to  procure  his  sanction  to  a  proposal 
on  the  part  of  the  hunter  portion  to  emigrate  to  some  part  of  the  territory  of  the 
United  States  west  of  the  Mississippi,  where  they  would  be  able  to  find  game  in 
greater  abundance. 

On  the  9th  of  January,  1809,  Mr.  Jefferson,  who  was  then  in  the  Presidential 
chair,  returned  the  deputation  an  answer,  and  gave  his  sanction  to  this  plan,  in  these 
words : 

"  The  United  States,  my  children,  are  the  friends  of  both  parties,  and,  as  far  as 
can  be  reasonably  asked,  they  are  willing  to  satisfy  the  wishes  of  both.  Those  who 
remain  may  be  assured  of  our  patronage,  our  aid  and  good  neighborhood ;  those 
who  wish  to  remove  are  permitted  to  send  an  exploring  party  to  reconnoitre  the 
country  on  the  waters  of  the  Arkansas  and  White  Rivers,  and  the  higher  up  the 
better,  as  they  will  be  the  longer  unapproached  by  our  settlements  which  will  begin 
at  the  mouths  of  those  rivers.  The  regular  districts  of  the  government  of  St.  Louis 
are  already  laid  off  to  the  St.  Francis. 

"  When  this  party  shall  have  found  a  tract  of  country  suiting  the  emigrants,  and 
not  claimed  by  other  Indians,  we  will  arrange  with  them  and  you  for  an  exchange 
of  that  for  a  just  portion  of  the  country  they  leave,  and  to  a  part  of  which,  propor 
tioned  to  their  numbers,  they  have  a  right  Every  aid  towards  their  removal,  and 
what  will  be  necessary  for  them  there,  will  then  be  freely  administered  to  them,  and 
when  established  in  their  new  settlements  we  shall  still  consider  them  as  our  children, 
give  them  the  benefit  of  exchanging  their  peltries  for  what  they  will  want  at  our 
factories,1  and  always  hold  them  firmly  by  the  hand." 

This  sanction  to  the  emigration  of  a  part  of  the  Cherokees  may  be  considered  as 

1  The  factory  system  was  not  abolished  by  Congress  till  1822. 

349 


350  WH?  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

the  initiatory  Btep  in  the  plan  of  a  general  removal  of  the  tribes  from  the  old  States 
to  the  westward  of  the  Mississippi, — one,  however,  which  required  the  national  expe 
rience  of  sixteen  years  to  guarantee  and  fully  adopt. 

At  the  Cherokee  Agency,  on  the  8th  of  July,  1817,  this  measure  received  the 
sanction  of  the  commissioners1  appointed  to  treat  with  the  nation.  This  treaty  made 
provision  for  the  proper  distribution  of  the  annuities  of  the  tribes  between  the  East 
and  West  Cherokees,  and  also  for  taking  a  full  and  perfect  census  of  the  whole  nation 
during  the  following  year.  Other  stipulations  and  agreements  were  entered  into, 
discordant  opinions  respecting  the  faithful  and  prompt  execution  of  which  have  been 
the  occasion  of  the  internal  dissensions  which  have  distracted  that  nation.  From  the 
treaty  concluded  by  Mr.  Calhoun  with  the  nation  at  Washington  on  the  27th  of 
February,  1819,  we  learn  that  the  census  prescribed  for  the  year  1818  was  not  taken. 
New  boundary-lines  were  designated  for  the  Cherokee  territories  lying  east  of  the 
Mississippi,  a  fund  was  set  apart  for  the  use  of  schools,  and  a  division  of  the  national 
annuities  made,  it  being  agreed  that  one-third  of  the  amount  should  be  paid  to  the 
Cherokees  west  of  the  Mississippi,  and  the  other  two-thirds  to  those  residing  east  of 
that  river.  The  stipulation  that  white  emigrants  should  be  prevented  from  settling 
on  the  lands  situate  along  the  Arkansas  and  White  Rivers  was  renewed.1 

The  Creeks  had  been  after  a  hard  struggle  subdued  rather  than  conquered  in  the 
war  of  1814,  but  their  disastrous  defeat  on  the  Tallap<josa,  at  the  battle  of  the  Horse- 
Shoe,  March  27,  was  so  discouraging  that  they  did  not  again  venture  to  assume  a 
warlike  attitude.  On  the  9th  of  August,  1814,  they  signed  a  treaty  of  peace  with  a 
feeling  of  humiliation  and  disappointment.  This  treaty  was  in  the  first  instance  sub 
scribed  by  Tustannuggee  Thlucco  and  thirty-six  of  the  leading  miccos  and  chiefs  of 
both  the  upper  and  the  lower  division  of  the  nation.  During  the  entire  continuance 
of  the  war  considerable  feeling  had  existed  among  the  Americans  against  the  Spanish 
and  British  authorities  in  Florida,  and  particularly  against  the  traders  who  had 
furnished  the  Creeks  with  supplies  of  arms  and  ammunition.  Those  members  of  the 
Creek  nation  who  fled  to  Pensacola  after  their  final  defeat  on  the  Tallapoosa  did  not 
present  themselves  in  the  council  which  formed  this  treaty,  or  signify  their  submis 
sion  by  sending  delegates  to  it.  On  the  6th  of  the  following  November,  the  southern 
coasts  being  then  strictly  blockaded  by  the  enemy,  the  American  army,  as  previously 
stated,  appeared  before  the  gates  of  Pensacola,  and  succeeded  in  taking  that  fortress. 
No  further  aid  being  furnished  to  the  tribes  from  foreign  sources,  a  general  peace 
resulted.  The  stipulations  of  this  treaty  were  subsequently  carried  out  and  extended 
by  another  formed  March  28,  1818,  and  by  that  concluded  January  8,  1821. 

The  Chickasaws  and  Choctaws  had  maintained  a  position  of  neutrality  during 
the  war,  but  a  few  individuals  of  each  tribe  were  present  in  the  American  camp 
during  the  Creek  war,  which  circumstance  furnishes  a  reason  for  the  recital  of  the 

1  Andrew  Jackson,  Joseph  McMinn,  and  D.  Meriwether. 

1  Mr.  Schoolcraft  passed  through  that  tract  io  1818,  and  found  the  country  occupied  by  white  hunters 
and  trappers,  who  were  bitterly  opposed  to  the  coming  of  the  Cherokees. 


POST-REVOLUTIONARY.  351 

names  of  these  two  tribes  in  the  treaty  of  pacification  with  the  Creek  natton,  signed 
August  8,  1814.  These  tribes,  as  mentioned  in  preceding  pages,  lay  claim  to  high 
antiquity  in  the  country,  to  which  they  migrated  from  the  West  at  an  early  period. 
The  Chickasaw  nation  possesses  a  tradition  which  evidently  refers  to  the  landing  of 
De  So  to  on  the  Chickasaw  bluffs. 

The  treaty  entered  into  October  10, 1821,  with  the  Choctaws  may  be  said  to  have 
inaugurated  a  new  and  important  feature  in  the  policy  of  the  Indian  removals. 
Heretofore  treaties  had  been  made  for  temporary  purposes  only,  the  Indians  con 
suming  the  principal  of  their  annuities,  and  establishing  no  fund  which  would  be 
beyond  the  reach  of  agrarian  distribution,  paying  also  but  little  regard  to  their 
permanent  welfare  or  their  intellectual  advancement.  This  treaty  would  seem  to 
indicate  their  apprehension  that  the  pressure  of  the  surrounding  white  population 
would  render  it  impossible  for  them  to  reside  permanently  east  of  the  Mississippi 
River.  They  stipulated  that  the  same  quantity  of  land  which  they  held  east  of  that 
river  should  1x5  given  to  them  west  of  it,  and  its  poascssion  guaranteed.  This  was 
exclusive  of  n  tract  in  the  East  to  be  temporarily  retained  by  them  and  divided  into 
farms,  on  which  they  were  to  remain  until  they  had  attained  a  state  of  civilization 
and  advancement  in  industrial  arts  which  would  qualify  them  for  beginning  their 
Western  emigration.  They  were  also. to  receive  temporary  aid  while  in  their  present 
location  and  after  removing  to  the  West.  The  most  striking  feature  in  this  treaty 
was  the  appropriation  of  the  proceeds  of  fifty-four  sections,  each  one  mile  square,  of 
the  ceded  lands,  to  constitute  a  school  fund.  In  the  same  treaty  provision  was  made 
for  the  support  of  the  deaf,  dumb,  blind,  and  distressed  of  the  tribe,  and  for  the 
payment  of  an  annuity  to  a  superannuated  chief  of  their  nation  called  Mushulatub- 
bee.  Power  was  granted  to  the  United  States  agents  to  seize  and  destroy  all  ardent 
spirits  introduced  into  their  country,  and  a  police  force,  under  the  name  of  light- 
horse,  was  authorized  to  act  as  a  posse  comitatus  in  maintaining  order  and  enforcing 
obedience  to  the  laws. 

The  increase  in  the  number  of  treaties,  and  of  the  Indian  business  generally, 
began  to  press  so  heavily  on  the  Secretary  of  War  that  in  1824  he  placed  this 
department  under  the  charge  of  Thomas  L.  McKenney,  Esq.,  as  chief  of  the  clerical 
staff,  an  office  for  the  establishment  of  which  Congress  subsequently  passed  an  act. 
A  regular  system  of  accountability  was  established  in  all  departments  of  the  bureau, 
affecting  all  officers,  from  the  lowest  to  the  highest. 

From  early  times  a  close  connection  had  existed  between  the  civil  and  military 
departments  of  Indian  affairs,  and  while  the  tribes  stood  in  their  normal  hunter  state 
it  was  difficult  to  manage  the  one  without  reference  to  the  other.  Sir  William 
Johnson,  as  early  as  1757,  only  two  years  subsequent  to  his  appointment  as  General 
Superintendent,  had  endeavored  to  relieve  himself  from  the  onerous  duties  of  his 
office  by  the  employment  of  a  secretary,  a  man  of  talents  and  learning,  who  was  in 
the  habit  of  preparing  the  reports  transmitted  to  the  Lords  of  Plantations.  During 
the  war  of  the  Revolution,  and  subsequent  thereto,  Congress  managed  the  govern 
ment  of  Indian  affairs  by  intrusting  it  to  commissioners  for  the  North  and  South, 


352 


THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 


who  were  usually  men  of  sound  practical  experience  and  judgment.  The  executive 
documents  abound  in  details  of  their  acts.  On  the  organization  of  the  present  gov 
ernment,  in  1789,  General  Knox  negotiated  one  or  more  treaties.  The  same  system 
prevailed  from  Washington's  administration  through  the  administrations  of  Adams 
the  elder,  Jefferson,  Madison,  and  Monroe,  and  when  the  bureau  was  organized  by 
Congress  it  was  continued  under  the  administrations  of  the  younger  Adams,  Jackson, 
Van  Buren,  Harrison,  and  Polk,  at  the  close  of  whose  term  of  office,  by  an  act  of 
Congress,  the  duty  was  transferred  from  the  War  Department  to  that  of  the  Interior. 

Among  the  men  who  rendered  long  and  valuable  services  in  this  department, 
General  Harrison  and  General  William  Clarke  deserve  especial  mention.  As  ex~ 
officio  Superintendents  of  Indian  Affairs,  while  performing  the  duties  appertaining 
to  the  office  of  Governor  of  the  Indian  Territories,  they  negotiated  a  very  large 
proportion  of  the  treaties  made  between  the  years  1804  and  1812  with  the  tribes 
residing  east  and  west  of  the  Mississippi.  After  the  close  of  the  war,  in  1815,  their 
talent  in  this  department  appears  to  have  been  inherited  by  General  Lewis  Cass. 

These  men  took  the  most  prominent  part  in  the  negotiations  with  the  Indians, 
and  to  them  we  are  indebted  for  the  permanency  of  our  Indian  relations,  and  for 
making  the  aborigines  acquainted  with  the  peculiar  features,  practices,  and  institutions 
of  our  government.  From  the  time  of  the  return  of  General  Clarke  from  the 
exploration  of  the  Columbia  River,  in  1806,  to  the  day  of  his  death,  in  1838,  he  was 
the  Maecenas  of  the  tribes  west  of  the  Mississippi.  The  Indians  located  on  the  Mis 
souri,  Platte,  Kansas,  Osage,  and  Arkansas  Rivers,  as  well  as  those  residing  among 
the  distant  peaks  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  were  frequent  and  welcome  visitors  at  the 
government  council-house  in  St.  Louis.  The  official  records  of  his  proceedings  with 
the  Indians  have  been  carefully  examined,  and  are  found  to  contain  a  mass  of 
speeches  and  traditions,  constituting  a  valuable  collection  of  material,  whence  the 
historian  may  derive  much  information  regarding  the  sons  of  the  forest. 


PERIOD   VII. 

REMOVAL  OF  THE  TRIBES  WEST  OF  TEE  MISSISSIPPI, 


CHAPTER    I. 

PLAN  OF  REMOVAL— STATISTICS  OP  THE  TRIBES. 

THE  plan  of  a  concentration  of  the  tribes  and  fragments  of  tribes  as  colonial 
communities,  on  territory  specially  appropriated  to  their  use,  where,  under  the 
operation  of  their  own  laws  and  institutions,  their  better  qualities  might  develop 
themselves,  was  first  suggested  by  Mr.  Monroe,  the  fifth  President  of  the  United 
States,  who,  in  a  message  communicated  by  him  to  Congress  on  the  27th  of  January, 
1825,  thus  invites  the  attention  of  that  body  to  the  topic : 

•'  Being  deeply  impressed  with  the  opinion  that  the  removal  of  the  Indian  tribes 
from  the  lands  which  they  now  occupy  within  the  limits  of  the  several  States  and 
Territories  to  the  country  lying  westward  and  northward  thereof,  within  our 
acknowledged  boundaries,  is  of  very  high  importance  to  our  Union,  and  may  be 
accomplished  on  conditions  and  in  a  manner  to  promote  the  interest  and  happiness 
of  those  tribes,  the  attention  of  the  government  has  been  long  drawn,  with  great 
solicitude,  to  the  object.  For  the  removal  of  the  tribes  within  the  limits  of  the  State 
of  Georgia  the  motive  has  been  peculiarly  strong,  arising  from  the  compact  with  that 
State  whereby  the  United  States  are  bound  to  extinguish  the  Indian  title  to  the  lands 
within  it  whenever  it  may  be  done  peaceably  and  on  reasonable  conditions.  In  the 
fulfilment  of  this  compact  I  have  thought  that  the  United  States  should  act  with  a 
generous  spirit,  that  they  should  omit  nothing  which  should  comport  with  a  liberal 
construction  of  the  instrument  and  likewise  be  in  accordance  with  the  just  rights  of 
those  tribes.  .  .  .  Experience  has  clearly  demonstrated  that  in  their  present  state  it 
is  impossible  to  incorporate  them  in  such  masses  in  any  form  whatever  into  our 
system.  It  has  also  demonstrated  with  equal  certainty  that  without  a  timely  antici 
pation  of  and  provision  against  the  dangers  to  which  they  are  exposed,  under  causes 
which  it  will  be  difficult  if  not  impossible  to  control,  their  degradation  and  extermi 
nation  will  be  inevitable. 

"  The  great  object  to  be  accomplished  is  the  removal  of  those  tribes  to  the  terri 
tory  designated  on  conditions  which  shall  be  satisfactory  to  themselves  and  honorable 
to  the  United  States.  This  can  be  done  only  by  conveying  to  each  tribe  a  good  title 

ii— 45  353 


354  TEE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

to  an  adequate  portion  of  land  to  which  it  may  consent  to  remove,  and  by  providing 
for  it  there  a  system  of  internal  government  which  shall  protect  their  property  from 
invasion,  and  by  the  regular  progress  of  improvement  and  civilization  prevent  that 
degeneracy  which  has  generally  marked  the  transition  from  the  one  to  the  other 
state. 

"  The  digest  of  a  government,  with  the  consent  of  the  Indians,  which  should  be 
endowed  with  sufficient  power  to  meet  all  the  objects  contemplated,  to  connect  the 
several  tribes  together  in  a  bond  of  amity,  and  preserve  order  in  each,  to  prevent 
intrusions  on  their  property,  to  teach  them,  by  regular  instructions,  the  arts  of  civil 
ized  life,  and  make  them  a  civilized  people,  is  an  object  of  very  high  importance.  It 
is  the  powerful  consideration  which  we  have  to  offer  to  these  tribes  as  an  inducement 
to  relinquish  the  lands  on  which  they  now  reside,  and  to  remove  to  those  which  are 
designated.  It  is  not  doubted  that  this  arrangement  will  present  considerations  of 
sufficient  force  to  surmount  all  their  prejudices  in  favor  of  the  soil  of  their  nativity, 
however  strong  they  may  be.  Their  elders  have  sufficient  intelligence  to  discern  the 
certain  progress  of  events  in  the  present  train,  and  sufficient  virtue,  by  yielding  to 
momentary  sacrifices,  to  protect  their  families  and  posterity  from  inevitable  destruc 
tion.  They  will  also  perceive  that  they  may  thus  attain  an  elevation  to  which  as 
communities  they  could  not  otherwise  aspire. 

"To  the  United  States  the  proposed  arrangement  offers  many  important  ad 
vantages  in  addition  to  those  which  have  been  already  enumerated.  By  the  estab 
lishment  of  such  a  government  over  these  tribes,  with  their  consent,  we  become  in 
reality  their  benefactors.  The  relation  of  conflicting  interests  which  has  heretofore 
existed  between  them  and  our  frontier  settlements  will  cease.  There  will  be  no  more 
wars  between  them  and  the  United  States.  Adopting  such  a  government,  their 
movement  will  be  in  harmony  with  us,  and  its  good  effect  be  felt  throughout  the 
whole  extent  of  our  territory  to  the  Pacific.  It  may  fairly  be  presumed  that  through 
the  agency  of  such  a  government  the  condition  of  all  the  tribes  inhabiting  that  vast 
region  may  be  essentially  improved,  that  permanent  peace  may  be  preserved  with 
them,  and  our  commerce  be  much  extended. 

"  With  a  view  to  this  important  object,  I  recommend  it  to  Congress  to  adopt,  by 
solemn  declaration,  certain  fundamental  principles  in  accord  with  those  above  sug 
gested,  as  the  basis  of  such  arrangements  as  may  be  entered  into  with  the  several 
tribes,  to  the  strict  observance  of  which  the  faith  of  the  nation  shall  be  pledged.  I 
recommend  it  also  to  Congress  to  provide  by  law  for  the  appointment  of  a  suitable 
number  of  commissioners  who  shall,  under  the  direction  of  the  President,  be  author 
ized  to  visit  and  explain  to  the  several  tribes  the  objects  of  the  government,  and  to 
make  with  them,  according  to  their  instructions,  such  arrangements  as  shall  be  best 
calculated  to  carry  these  objects  into  effect. 

"  A  negotiation  is  now  pending  with  the  Creek  nation  for  the  cession  of  lands 
held  by  it  within  the  limits  of  Georgia,  and  with  a  reasonable  prospect  of  success. 
It  is  presumed,  however,  that  the  result  will  not  be  known  during  the  present  session 
of  Congress.  To  give  effect  to  this  negotiation,  and  to  the  negotiations  which  it  is 


REMOVAL   OF  TUB  TRIBES   WEST  OF   THE  MISSISSIPPI.  855 

proposed  to  hold  with  all  the  other  tribes  within  the  limits  of  the  several  States  and 
Territories,  on  the  principles  and  for  the  purposes  stated,  it  is  recommended  that  an 
adequate  appropriation  be  now  made  by  Congress." 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  remind  the  reader  that  the  event  has  most  signally  failed 
to  justify  the  pleasing  anticipations  of  Mr.  Monroe  of  the  success  of  the  plan  for 
placing  the  tribes  upon  reservations. 

One  of  the  first  measures  necessary  in  carrying  this  plan  into  effect  was  to  ascer 
tain  the  names,  positions,  and  numbers  of  the  Indian  tribes  to  be  removed.  Mr. 
Calhoun,  Secretary  of  War,  in  communicating  the  subjoined  information  from  the 
newly-organized  Bureau  of  Indian  Affairs,  thus  expresses  his  views  of  the  entire 
feasibility  of  the  plan : 

"  It  appears  by  the  report  enclosed  that  there  are  in  the  several  States  and  Terri 
tories  (not  including  a  portion  of  Michigan  Territory,  west  of  Lake  Michigan,  and 
north  of  the  State  of  Illinois)  about  97,000  Indians,  and  that  they  occupy  about 
77,000,000  acres  of  land. 

"  The  arrangement  for  the  removal,  it  is  presumed,  is  not  intended  to  comprehend 
the  small  remnants  of  tribes  in  Maine,  Massachusetts,  Connecticut,  Rhode  Island, 
Virginia,  and  South  Carolina,  amounting  to  3023.  To  these  also  may  be  added  the 
remnants  of  tribes  remaining  in  Louisiana,  amounting  to  1313,  as  they  are  each  of 
them  so  few  in  number  that  it  is  believed  very  little  expense  or  difficulty  will  be 
found  in  their  removal,  making  together  4336,  which,  subtracted  from  the  97,000» 
the  entire  number  in  the  States  and  Territories,  will  leave  92,664  to  be  removed.  Of 
these  there  are  residing  in  the  northern  part  of  the  States  of  Indiana,  Illinois,  in  the 
peninsula  of  Michigan,  and  New  York,  including  the  Ottawas  in  Ohio,  about  13,150, 
which  I  would  respectfully  suggest  might  be  removed  with  advantage  to  the  country 
west  of  Lake  Michigan  and  north  of  the  State  of  Illinois.  The  climate  and  nature 
of  the  country  are  much  more  favorable  to  their  habits  than  that  west  of  the  Missis 
sippi,  to  which  may  be  added  that  the  Indians  in  New  York  have  already  commenced 
a  settlement  at  Green  Bay,  and  exhibit  some  disposition  to  make  it  a  permanent  one, 
and  that  the  Indians  referred  to  in  Indiana,  Illinois,  and  in  the  peninsula  of  Michi 
gan,  will  find  in  the  country  designated  kindred  tribes,  with  whom  they  may  be 
readily  associated.  These  considerations,  with  the  greater  facility  with  which  they 
could  be  collected  in  that  portion  of  the  country  compared  with  that  of  collecting 
them  west  of  the  Mississippi,  form  a  strong  inducement  to  give  it  the  preference. 
Should  the  proposition  be  adopted,  the  Indians  in  question  might  be  gradually  col 
lected,  as  it  became  necessary  from  time  to  time  to  extinguish  the  Indian  title  in 
Indiana,  Illinois,  and  Michigan,  without  incurring  any  additional  expense  other  than 
what  is  usually  incidental  to  such  extinguishment.  Deducting,  then,  the  Indians 
residing  in  the  northwestern  parts  of  Indiana,  Illinois,  in  Michigan,  and  New  York, 
with  the  Ottawas  in  Ohio,  amounting  to  13,150,  from  92,664,  will  leave  but  79,514. 
It  is  proper  to  add  that  a  late  treaty  with  the  Quapaws  stipulates  and  provides  for 
their  removal,  and  that  they  may  also  be  deducted  from  the  number  for  whose 
removal  provision  ought  to  be  made.  They  are  estimated  at  700,  which,  deducted 


356  TnE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

. 

from  79,514,  will  leave  78,814  to  be  removed  west  of  the  State  of  Missouri  and 
Territory  of  Arkansas,  should  the  views  of  the  department  be  adopted. 

"  Of  these,  there  are  estimated  to  reside  in  the  States  of  Virginia,  North  Carolina, 
Tennessee,  Alabama,  and  Mississippi,  53,625,  consisting  of  Cherokees,  Creeks,  Choc- 
taws,  and  Chickasaws,  and  claiming  about  33,573,176  acres,  including  the  claim  of 
the  Cherokees  in  North  Carolina ;  3082  in  Ohio,  and  in  the  southern  and  middle 
parts  of  Indiana  and  Illinois,  consisting  of  Wyandots,  Shawnees,  Senecas,  Delawares, 
Kaskaskias,  and  Miamis  and  Eel  Rivers ;  5000  in  Florida,  consisting  of  Seminoles 
and  remnants  of  other  tribes ;  and  the  remainder  in  Missouri  and  Arkansas,  con 
sisting  of  Delawares,  Kickapoos,  Shawnees,  Weas,  lowas,  Piankeshaws,  Cherokees, 
Quapaws,  and  Osages. 

"  The  next  subject  of  consideration  will  be  to  acquire  a  sufficient  tract  of  country 
west  of  the  State  of  Missouri  and  Territory  of  Arkansas  in  order  to  establish  per 
manent  settlements  in  that  quarter  of  the  tribes  which  are  proposed  to  be  removed. 
The  country  between  the  Red  River  and  the  Arkansas  has  already  been  allotted  to 
the  Choctaws  under  the  treaty  of  the  18th  October,  1820.  The  country  north  of  the 
river  Arkansas  and  immediately  west  of  the  State  of  Missouri  is  held  almost  entirely 
by  the  Osages  and  the  Kansas,  the  principal  settlement  of  the  former  being  on  the 
Osage  River  not  far  west  of  the  western  boundary  of  Missouri,  and  the  latter  on  the 
Missouri  River  near  Cow  Island.  There  is  a  band  of  the  Osages  situated  on  the 
Verdigris,  a  branch  of  the  Arkansas.  Governor  Clarke  has  been  already  instructed 
to  take  measures  to  remove  them  from  the  Verdigris  to  join  the  other  bands  on  the 
Osage  River.  To  carry  this  object  into  effect,  and  to  extinguish  the  title  of  the 
Osages  upon  the  Arkansas  and  in  the  State  of  Missouri,  and  also  to  extinguish  the 
title  of  the  Kansas  to  whatever  tract  of  country  may  be  necessary  to  effect  the  views 
of  the  government,  will  be  the  first  object  of  expenditure,  and  would  require  an 
appropriation,  it  is  believed,  of  not  less  than  $30,000.  After  this  is  effected,  the  next 
will  be  to  allot  a  portion  of  the  country  to  each  of  the  tribes,  and  to  commence  the 
work  of  removal.  The  former  could  be  effected  by  vesting  in  the  President  discre 
tionary  power  to  make  the  location,  and  the  latter  by  commencing  with  the  removal 
of  the  Cherokees,  Piankeshaws,  Weas,  Shawnees,  Kickapoos,  and  Delawares,  who 
now  occupy  different  tracts  of  country  lying  in  the  northwestern  portion  of  the 
Arkansas  Territory  and  the  southwestern  portion  of  the  State  of  Missouri.  It  is 
believed  that  the  Cherokees,  to  whom  has  been  allotted  a  country  lying  between  the 
Arkansas  and  White  Rivers,  will  very  readily  agree  to  removing  their  eastern 
boundary  farther  west  on  the  consideration  that  for  the  lands  thereby  ceded  they 
may  have  assigned  to  them  an  equal  quantity  farther  west,  as  they  have  evinced  a 
strong  disposition  to  prevent  the  settlement  of  the  whites  to  the  west  of  them.  It  is 
probable  that  this  arrangement  could  be  effected  by  an  appropriation  of  a  few 
thousand  dollars,  say  five  thousand,  for  the  expense  of  holding  the  treaty.  Nor  is  it 
believed  that  there  will  be  any  difficulty  in  inducing  the  Piankeshaws,  AVeas,  Shaw 
nees,  Kickapoos,  and  Delawares  to  occupy  a  position  that  may  be  assigned  to  them 
west  of  the  State  of  Missouri,  or  that,  the  operation  will  be  attended  with  any  great 


REMOVAL   OF  THE   TRIBES   WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI.  357 

expense.  The  kindred  tribes  in  the  States  of  Ohio  and  Indiana,  including  the 
Wyandots,  the  Senecas,  and  the  Miarais  and  Eel  Rivers  in  those  States,  and  the 
Kaskaskias  in  Illinois,  it  is  believed  might  be  induced  without  much  difficulty  to 
join  them  after  those  now  residing  in  Missouri  are  fixed  in  their  new  position  west 
of  that  State.  Of  the  sum  that  will  be  necessary  for  this  purpose  it  is  difficult  to 
form  an  estimate.  These  tribes  amount  to  3082.  The  expense  of  extinguishing 
their  title  to  the  lands  occupied  by  them  will  probably  be  high  in  comparison  with 
the  price  which  has  been  usually  given  for  lands  in  that  quarter,  as  they,  particularly 
the  Indians  in  Ohio,  have  made  some  advances  in  civilization  and  considerable 
improvements  on  their  lands.  The  better  course  would  be  to  remove  them  gradually, 
commencing  with  those  tribes  which  are  most  disposed  to  leave  their  present  settle 
ments,  and,  if  this  arrangement  should  be  adopted,  an  appropriation  of  $20,000 
would  be  sufficient  to  commence  with. 

"  It  may,  however,  be  proper  to  remark  that  these  tribes,  together  with  those  in 
Xew  York,  have  indicated  a  disposition  to  join  the  Cherokees  on  the  Arkansas,  and 
that  a  deputation  from  the  former,  with  a  deputation  from  those  Cherokees,  are 
now  on  their  way  to  the  seat  of  government  in  order  to  make  some  arrangements  to 
carry  the  proposed  union  into  effect.  Should  it  be  accomplished,  it  would  vary  the 
arrangement  which  has  been  suggested  in  relation  to  them,  but  will  not  probably 
materially  vary  the  expense. 

"  It  only  remains  now  to  consider  the  removal  of  the  Indians  in  Florida,  and  the 
four  Southern  tribes  residing  in  North  Carolina,  Georgia,  Tennessee,  Alabama,  and 
Mississippi. 

"  It  is  believed  that  immediate  measures  need  not  be  taken  with  regard  to  the 
Indians  in  Florida.  By  the  treaty  of  the  18th  September,  1823,  they  ceded  the 
whole  of  the  northern  portion  of  Florida,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  small  reserva 
tions,  and  have  had  allotted  to  them  the  southern  part  of  the  peninsula ;  and  it  is 
probable  that  no  inconvenience  will  be  felt  for  many  years,  either  by  the  inhabitant* 
of  Florida  or  the  Indians,  under  the  present  arrangement. 

"  Of  the  four  Southern  tribes,  two  of  them,  the  Cherokees  and  Choctaws,  have 
already  allotted  to  them  a  tract  of  country  west  of  the  Mississippi.  That  which  has 
been  allotted  to  the  latter  is  believed  to  be  sufficiently  ample  for  the  v/hole  nation 
should  they  emigrate,  and  if  an  arrangement,  which  is  believed  not  to  be  impracti 
cable,  could  be  made  between  them  and  the  Chickasaws,  who  are  their  neighbors,  and 
of  similar  habits  and  dispositions,  it  would  be  sufficient  for  the  accommodation  of 
both.  A  sufficient  country  should  be  reserved  to  the  west  of  the  Cherokees,  on  the 
Arkansas,  as  a  means  of  exchange  with  those  who  remain  on  the  east.  To  the 
Creeks  might  be  allotted  a  country  between  the  Arkansas  and  Canadian  Rivers, 
which  limits  the  northern  boundary  of  the  Choctaw  possessions  in  that  quarter. 
There  is  now  pending  with  the  Creeks  a  negotiation,  under  the  appropriation  of  the 
last  session,  with  a  prospect  that  the  portion  of  that  nation  which  resides  within  the 
limits  of  Georgia  may  be  induced,  with  the  consent  of  the  nation,  to  cede  the  country 
which  they  occupy  for  a  portion  of  the  one  which  it  is  proposed  to  allot  for  the  Creek 


358  TBE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

j 

nation  on  the  west  of  the  Mississippi.  Should  the  treaty  prove  successful,  its  stipu 
lations  will  provide  for  the  means  of  carrying  it  into  effect,  which  will  render  any 
additional  provision  at  present  unnecessary.  It  will  be  proper  to  open  new  commu 
nications  with  the  Cherokees,  Choctaws,  and  Chickasaws  for  the  purpose  of  explain 
ing  to  them  the  views  of  the  government,  and  inducing  them  to  remove  beyond  the 
Mississippi,  on  the  principles  and  conditions  which  may  be  proposed  to  the  other 
tribes.  It  is  known  that  there  are  many  individuals  of  each  of  the  tribes  who  are 
desirous  of  settling  west  of  the  Mississippi,  and,  should  it  be  thought  advisable,  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  if  by  an  adequate  appropriation  the  means  were  afforded  the 
government  of  bearing  their  expense  they  would  emigrate.  Should  it  be  thought  that 
the  encouragement  of  such  emigration  is  desirable,  the  sum  of  $40,000,  at  least, 
would  be  required  to  be  appropriated  for  this  object,  to  be  applied  under  the  dis 
cretion  of  the  President  of  the  United  States.  The  several  sums  which  have  been 
recommended  to  be  appropriated,  if  the  proposed  arrangements  should  be  adopted, 
amount  to  §95,000.  The  appropriation  may  be  made  either  general  or  specific,  as 
may  be  deemed  most  advisable. 

"  I  cannot,  however,  conclude  without  remarking  that  no  arrangement  ought  to 
be  made  which  does  not  regard  the  interests  of  the  Indians  as  well  as  our  own,  and 
that  to  protect  the  interests  of  the  former  decisive  measures  ought  to  be  adopted  to 
prevent  the  hostility  which  must  almost  necessarily  take  place  if  left  to  themselves, 
among  tribes  hastily  brought  together,  of  discordant  character,  and  many  of  which 
are  actuated  by  feelings  far  from  being  friendly  towards  each  other.  But  the  pres 
ervation  of  peace  between  them  will  not  alone  be  sufficient  to  render  their  condition 
as  eligible  in  their  new  situation  as  it  is  in  their  present  Almost  all  of  the  tribes 
proposed  to  be  affected  by  the  arrangement  are  more  or  less  advanced  in  the  arts  of 
civilized  life,  and  there  is  scarcely  one  of  them  which  have  not  benefited  by  the 
establishment  of  schools  in  the  nation,  affording  at  once  the  means  of  moral,  religious, 
and  intellectual  improvement.  These  schools  have  been  established,  for  the  most 
part,  by  religious  societies,  with  the  countenance  and  aid  of  the  government,  and  on 
every  principle  of  humanity  the  continuance  of  similar  advantages  of  education 
ought  to  be  extended  to  them  in  their  new  residence.  There  is  another  point  which 
appears  to  be  indispensable  to  be  guarded  in  order  to  render  the  condition  of  this 
race  less  afflicting.  One  of  the  greatest  evils  to  which  they  are  subject  is  that  inces 
sant  pressure  of  our  population  which  forces  them  from  seat  to  seat  without  allow 
ing  time  for  that  moral  and  intellectual  improvement  for  which  they  appear  to  be 
naturally  eminently  susceptible.  To  guard  against  this  evil,  so  fatal  to  the  race, 
there  ought  to  be  the  strongest  and  the  most  solemn  assurance  that  the  country  given 
them  should  be  theirs  as  a  permanent  home  for  themselves  and  their  posterity,  with 
out  being  disturbed  by  the  encroachments  of  our  citizens.  To  such  assurance,  if 
there  should  be  added  a  system  by  which  the  government,  without  destroying  their 
independence,  would  gradually  unite  the  several  tribes  under  a  simple  but  enlightened 
system  of  government  and  laws,  formed  on  the  principles  of  our  own,  and  for  which, 
as  their  own  people  would  partake  in  it,  they  would,  under  the  influence  of  the 


REMOVAL   OF  THE  TRIBES   WEST  OF   THE  MISSISSIPPI.  369 

contemplated  improvement,  at  no  distant  day  become  prepared,  the  arrangements 
which  have  been  proposed  would  prove  to  the  Indiana  and  their  posterity  a  perma 
nent  blessing.     It  is  believed  that  if  they  could  be  assured  that  peace  and  friendship 
would  be  maintained  among  the  several  tribes,  that  the  advantages  of  education 
which  they  now  enjoy  would  be  extended  to  them,  that  they  should  have  a  permanent 
and  solemn  guarantee  for  their  possessions,  and  receive  the  countenance  and  aid  of 
the  government  for  the  gradual  extension  of  its  privileges  to  them,  there  would  be 
among  all  the  tribes  a  disposition  to  accord  with  the  views  of  the  government. 
There  are  now  in  most  of  the  tribes  well-educated,  sober,  and  reflecting  individuals 
who  are  afflicted  at  the  present  condition  of  the  Indians,  and  despondent  at  their 
future  prospects.     Under  the  operation  of  existing  causes  they  behold  the  certain 
degradation,  misery,  and  even  the  final  annihilation  of  their  race,  and  no  doubt 
would  gladly  embrace  any  arrangement  which  would  promise  to  elevate  them  in  the 
scale  of  civilization  and  arrest  the  destruction  which  now  awaits  them.     It  is  con 
ceived  that  one  of  the  most  cheap,  certain,  and  desirable  modes  of  effecting  the  object 
in  view  would  be  for  Congress  to  establish  fixed  principles,  such  as  have  been  sug 
gested,  as  the  basis  of  the  proposed  arrangement,  and  to  authorize  the  President  to 
convene  at  some  suitable  point  all  of  the  well-informed,  intelligent,  and  influential 
individuals  of  the  tribes  to  be  affected  by  it,  in  order  to  explain  to  them  the  views  of 
the  government  and  to  pledge  the  faith  of  the  nation  to  the  arrangements  that 
might  be  adopted.     Should  such  principles  be  established  by  Congress,  and  the 
President  be  vested  with  suitable  authority  to  convene  the  individuals  as  proposed, 
and  suitable  provision  be  made  to  meet  the  expense,  great  confidence  is  felt  that  a 
basis  of  a  system  might  be  laid  which  in  a  few  years  would  entirely  effect  the  object 
in  view,  to  the  mutual  benefit  of  the  government  and  the  Indians,  and  which,  in  its 
operations,  would  effectually  arrest  the  calamitous  course  of  events  to  which  they 
must  be  subject  without  a  radical  change  in  the  present  system.     Should  it  be  thought 
advisable  to  call  such  a  convention,  as  one  of  the  means  of  effecting  the  object  in 
view  an  additional  appropriation  of  $30,000  will  be  required,  making  in  the  whole 
$125,000  to  be  appropriated." 

The  following  additional  details  were  presented  by  the  newly-created  Bureau  of 
Indian  Affairs : 

"  There  are  now  remaining  within  the  limits  of  the  different  States  and  Territories, 
as  is  shown  by  the  table,  sixty-four  tribes  and  remnants  of  tribes  of  Indians,  whose 
'  names'  and  '  numbers'  are  given,  who  number  in  the  aggregate  129,266  souls,  and 
who  claim  77,402,318  acres  of  land. 

"  It  will  be  seen  by  adverting  to  the  table  that  the  Indians  residing  north  of  the 
State  of  Illinois,  east  of  the  Mississippi,  and  west  of  the  lakes,  are  comprehended 
in  the  estimate  of  the  number  in  Michigan  Territory,  although  in  estimating  the 
quantity  of  land  held  by  Indians  in  that  Territory  the  portion  only  so  held  in  the 
peninsula  of  Michigan  is  estimated.  It  was  found  impossible  from  any  documents 
in  possession  of  this  office  to  distinguish  the  number  of  Chippewaa  and  Ottawas 
residing  in  the  peninsula  of  Michigan  from  those  residing  on  the  west  side  of  Lake 


360  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Michigan.  It  is,  however,  believed  that  the  whole  number  reading  in  the  peninsula 
does  not  exceed  8500,  and  these,  as  has  been  stated,  are  principally  of  the  Chippewa 
and  Ottawa  tribes. 

"  It  may  be  proper  also  to  remark  that  of  the  6400  Sacs  and  Foxes  who  are 
included  in  the  estimate  as  part  of  the  129,266,  and  who  occupy  lands  on  both  sides 
the  Mississippi,  not  more  than  one-third  of  that  number  are  supposed  to  reside  on 
the  east  side,  and  of  the  5200  Osages  who  by  the  table  are  assigned  to  Missouri  and 
Arkansas  it  is  believed  not  more  than  one-third  of  that  number  reside  within  the 
State  of  Missouri  and  Territory  of  Arkansas.  If,  therefore,  the  number  assumed  for 
the  peninsula  of  Michigan  be  correct,  and  two-thirds  of  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  as  is 
believed  to  be  the  fact,  reside  on  the  west  of  the  Mississippi,  and  two-thirds  of  the 
Osages  west  of  Missouri  and  north  of  Arkansas,  there  will  remain  '  within  the  limits 
of  the  different  States  and  Territories' — confining  the  Michigan  Territory  to  the 
peninsula — 97,384  Indians,  possessing  (if  the  200,000  acres  claimed  by  the  Chero- 
kees  in  North  Carolina  be  added)  77,602,318  acres  of  land." 


CHAPTER    II. 

REMOVAL  BEGUN— CREEK  DIFFICULTIES— DEATH  OF  THE  CHIEF  McINTOSH— 
TREATY  FOR  THE  FINAL  SETTLEMENT— BOUNDARY  TREATIES  WITH  THE 
NORTHWESTERN  TRIBES. 

THE  treaties  concluded  respectively  with  the  Cherokees  July  8,  1817,  with  the 
Choctaws  October  18,  1820,  and  with  the  Creeks  January  8,  1821,  constituted  the 
primary  steps  towards  the  removal  of  the  aborigines  to  the  lands  west  of  the  Mis 
sissippi.  Under  these  treaties  the  hunter  portions  of  these  tribes  voluntarily 
assumed  the  initiative,  and  made  preparations  for  their  migration  to  the  Arkansas 
Territory.  The  hunter  bands,  as  contradistinguished  from  the  agricultural  bands 
of  the  Southern  or  Appalachian  group  of  tribes,  were  the  first  to  perceive  that 
this  land  must  be  their  national  refuge.  Hence  the  provision  in  the  first  article 
of  the  Choctaw  treaty  stipulates  that  they  should  be  furnished  with  a  Western 
tract,  "  where  all  who  live  by  hunting  and  will  not  work  may  be  collected  and 
settled  together."  This  proviso  was  the  natural  suggestion  of  the  Indian  mind : 
oxen,  ploughs,  and  implements  of  handicraft  were  not  attractive  objects  to  the 
aborigines,  who  delighted  in  the  pursuits  of  the  chase,  which  were  hallowed  in  their 
memories  by  reminiscences  of  their  fathers.  The  whites  did  not  so  readily  perceive 
that  the  stock  of  wild  animals  must  soon  decline  and  the  chase  prove  unreliable  in 
the  regions  east  of  the  Mississippi,  or  if  they  did  foresee  this  result  they  did  not  at 
first  propose  a  general  removal.  But  the  executive  power  favored  such  migrations 
as  originated  with  the  Indians  themselves,  and  insensibly,  perhaps,  the  system  of 
removal  became  the  policy  of  the  government.  When  the  question  was  discussed 
on  its  merits,  and  the  removal  began  to  be  put  in  operation,  it  became  evident  not 
only  that  the  West  was  an  outlet  to  the  hunter  population,  but  that  all  the  means 
necessary  for  their  improvement  in  arts,  and  for  their  progress  in  education  also,  in 
order  to  be  permanently  beneficial,  must  be  applied  in  that  quarter.  Driven  from 
their  original  residences,  or  from  reservations  in  the  States,  their  attainments  in  civil 
ization  would  be  shared  by  those  tribes  originally  resident  in  the  West,  and  all  the 
tribes  would  thus  in  a  measure  become  assimilated  in  manners  and  arts. 

The  question  of  removal  became  one  of  much  interest,  and  was  freely  discussed 
in  all  parts  of  the  Union,  the  ardent  friends  of  the  Indians  maintaining  that  it 
would  have  a  tendency  to  make  them  retrograde  towards  barbarism,  while  the  advo 
cates  for  removal  contended  that  it  would  be  accompanied  by  the  beneficial  effects 
referred  to.  Another  question  of  a  grave  character  arose  at  the  same  time, — viz.,  the 
claim  to  sovereignty  asserted  by  some  of  the  most  advanced  tribes  over  the  districts 

they  inhabited.    This  claim  was,  l.owevcr,  principally  confined  to  the  Creeks,  who 

n— 46  361 


362  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

had  received  a  powerful  national  impulse  during  the  occupancy  of  Florida  by  Great 
Britain.  Their  prominent  chiefe  had  become  wealthy  planters  through  the  medium 
cf  the  labor  of  fugitive  African  slaves  from  the  contiguous  States,  who  cultivated  for 
them  crops  of  cotton  and  corn.  The  result  was  that  they  not  only  amassed  riches, 
but  also  attained  to  that  kind  of  social  elevation  which  is  characterized  by  the  intro 
duction  of  castes  or  classes,  and  thus  became  averse  to  transferring  their  lands  and 
emigrating  westward. 

The  people  of  Georgia,  feeling  the  expansive  force  of  their  population,  clamored 
for  the  Creek  lands,  the  Indian  title  to  which  the  United  States  had  promised  to 
give  them  as  soon  as  it  could  be  obtained  "  peaceably  and  on  reasonable  conditions." 
The  Creeks,  when  they  began  to  appreciate  the  benefits  of  civilization  through  their 
experience  of  the  agricultural  and  school  systems,  declined  to  listen  to  any  proposal 
looking  towards  a  cession  of  their  territory.  A  law  was  eventually  passed  by  their 
council,  enacting  that  if  any  one  of  the  chiefs  or  rulers  should  sign  a  treaty  ceding 
lands,  he  should  incur  the  penalty  of  death. 

General  William  Mclntosh,  the  presiding  chief  of  the  Coweta  tribe  of  the  Lower 
Creeks,  subjected  himself  to  this  penalty  by  signing  the  treaty  of  February  12, 
1825.  The  penalty  was  enforced  by  the  dissenting  part  of  the  tribes  in  a  peculiar 
manner.  They  did  not  arraign  and  try  the  guilty  party,  but  a  large  number  of 
armed  warriors  surrounded  his  house  and  poured  into  it  an  indiscriminate  fire,  so 
that  the  onus  of  the  murder  might  not  rest  on  any  one  individual.  Fifty  other 
chiefs,  warriors,  and  head  men  had  signed  the  same  treaty,  but  they  were  not  held 
accountable,  doubtless  on  the  Indian  principle  that  the  punishment  of  a  crime  should 
fall  on  the  real  instigator  of  it,  whether  he  or  another  committed  the  act. 

The  United  States  made  no  attempt  to  carry  this  treaty  into  effect.  Mr.  Monroe, 
in  a  message  previously  quoted,  mentions  the  difficulty  which  surrounded  the  subject, 
and  expresses  a  hope  that  the  negotiations  with  the  tribe  then  in  progress  would 
result  favorably.  A  treaty  was  concluded  at  Indian  Springs,  in  the  Creek  Nation, 
March  7,  1825,  three  days  after  the  expiration  of  Mr.  Monroe's  Presidential  term. 
This  instrument  was  designed  to  enable  the  government  to  comply  with  its  contract 
of  April  24,  1802,  to  transfer  the  Indian  title  to  Georgia,  as  well  as  to  remove  the 
existing  dissatisfaction  with  the  treaty  of  February  12,  1825.  But  neither  object 
was  attained.  All  efforts  thus  far  proved  unsuccessful,  and  the  Creek  controversy 
was  left  unadjusted. 

The  Creek  question  attained  its  highest  point  of  interest  about  this  time.  Public 
opinion  was  much  divided,  some  siding  with  the  Indians  in  their  assertion  of  the 
right  of  sovereignty  within  the  territorial  area  of  Georgia,  and  others  as  decidedly 
opposing  it  as  a  new  and  inadmissible  claim.  Mr.  Adams,  who  succeeded  to  the 
Presidency,  directed  the  attention  of  the  War  Department  to  the  subject,  and  author 
ized  Mr.  Barbour,  the  Secretary  of  War,  to  confer  with  the  Creek  chiefs.  By  the 
treaty  concluded  at  Hopewell  in  1785  the  United  States  had  undertaken  to  extinguish 
the  Creek  title  and  transfer  it  to  the  State  of  Georgia  at  the  earliest  practicable 
moment  But  the  lapse  of  time  only  made  the  Indians  cling  more  closely  to  the 


REMOVAL   OF  THE   TRIBES   WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI.  363 

land.  The  period  for  the  chase  had  passed  away,  and  the  plough  began  to  be  appre 
ciated.  The  experience  of  forty  years  had  so  operated  as  to  give  them  a  more 
definite  and  just  idea  of  its  value,  and  they  now  undertook  to  ignore  the  laws  of 
Georgia,  and  to  dispute  her  sovereignty  over  the  country.  The  political  aspects  of 
the  controversy  had  been  communicated  to  Congress  during  the  last  few  months  of 
Mr.  Monroe's  second  term.  He  had  given  much  thought  to  the  subject,  and  recom 
mended  the  only  plan  which  appeared  to  meet  the  question,  insisting  on  the  certain 
decadence  and  speedy  extinction  of  the  tribe  if  they  remained  in  the  State,  in  view 
of  which  fact  it  seemed  just  and  right  to  urge  their  removal  as  a  means  to  their 
ultimate  welfare  and  prosperity. 

Mr.  Adams  exerted  himself  to  bring  this  vexed  question  to  an  equitable  close, 
the  Creek  nation  and  the  people  of  the  Union  being  much  agitated  by  its  discussion, 
and  the  friends  of  the  Indians  being  apprehensive  that  some  great  injustice  was  about 
to  be  done  them.  Georgia  having  demanded  their  expulsion,  the  Creeks  appealed  to 
the  government,  and  early  in  the  year  1826  sent  a  large  and  respectable  delegation 
to  Washington  to  represent  their  cause.  Negotiations  were  renewed,  and  resulted  in 
the  formation  of  the  important  treaty,  signed  January  24,  1826,  the  first  article  of 
which  abrogates  the  prior  treaty  of  February  12,  1825,  and  declares  every  clause 
thereof  "  null  and  void  to  every  intent  and  purpose  whatsoever."  By  this  treaty  the 
Creeks  ceded  large  tracts  of  their  lands  in  Georgia,  and  agreed  to  remove  to  the 
West.  The  Mclntosh  party,  and  all  who  signed  the  objectionable  treaty,  were  rein 
stated  in  their  rights,  indemnified  for  the  damages  sustained  by  them,  and  permitted 
to  send  a  delegation  to  locate  lands  for  their  party  in  the  West.  A  perpetual  addi 
tional  annuity  of  twenty  thousand  dollars  was  granted,  and  the  Creeks  agreed  to 
remove  within  one  year.  Other  stipulations  were  included  in  the  treaty,  which  was 
by  its  friends  pronounced  to  be  "  in  the  highest  degree  liberal." 

Under  the  authority  of  the  treaty-making  power,  the  President  continued  to 
receive  such  cessions  of  the  exhausted  and  surplus  tracts  of  all  the  tribes  situated 
east  of  the  Mississippi  as  they  felt  inclined  to  make  in  view  of  the  final  relinquish- 
ment  of  their  possessions  and  transfer  to  the  West. 

The  treaty  of  January  24,  1826,  was  the  first  effective  step  taken  towards  the 
transference  of  the  Indian  tribes  to  the  West.  This  treaty,  negotiated  by  Mr. 
Barbour,  Secretary  of  War,  made  very  extensive  cessions  of  territory,  retaining, 
however,  important  reserves  for  the  Indians,  who  were  confined  to  their  particular 
localities. 

It  is  impossible  to  conceive,  unless  from  a  perusal  of  the  numerous  public  docu 
ments  printed  at  that  period,  how  numerous  and  complicated  were  the  difficulties 
surrounding  this  subject.  Some  of  the  tribes,  more  advanced  in  civilization  than  the 
rest,  regarded  the  whole  movement  as  an  endeavor  to  drive  them  back  into  barbarism, 
and  the  best  people  of  the  whole  country  sympathized  with  this  view.  The  news 
paper  press  very  generally  asserted  that  the  Indian  question  had  reached  a  point 
where  it  had  become  necessary  to  pause  and  ponder  on  the  duties  which  the  nation 
owed  to  the  tribes,  who,  even  when  acting  under  delusive  impulses,  should  be  regarded 


364  TBJS  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

with  deep  sympathy,  not  only  as  our  predecessors  in  the  country,  but  also  as  indi 
viduals  entitled  to  the  benefits  of  Christian  civilization. 

At  the  same  time  it  appeared  to  many  people  that  nothing  but  the  removal  of  the 
tribes  from  the  jurisdiction  of  the  several  States  to  a  separate  territory,  where  they 
would  be  free  from  molestation,  could  avert  their  entire  annihilation  at  no  very 
distant  period.  Portions  of  the  Cherokees  seem  to  have  realized  their  true  condition 
as  early  as  the  year  1809,  when  they  obtained  Mr.  Jefferson's  sanction  to  their  pro 
posal,  which  was  subsequently  embodied  in  the  treaty  negotiated  in  1816.  From  a 
clause  of  the  treaty  with  the  Shawnees,  negotiated  by  General  Clarke  in  1825,  we 
learn  that  a  small  fragment  of  that  tribe  had  crossed  the  Mississippi  into  Upper 
Louisiana,  and  there  located  themselves  on  a  tract  of  land  twenty-five  miles  square, 
granted  to  them  by  Governor  Carondelet  as  early  as  1795.  This  movement,  which 
was  at  first  merely  precautionary  and  intended  to  furnish  an  outlet  for  their  restless 
population,  was  imitated  by  several  other  tribes  at  a  later  date,  and  at  various  epochs 
a  similar  course  was  adopted  by  a  part  of  the  Choctaws  and  the  Chickasaws,  the 
majority  of  the  Cherokees,  and,  finally,  of  the  Creeks.  Yet  the  dispersed  hunter 
tribes,  living  on  large  reservations  in  the  Western  and  Northern  States,  east  of  the 
Mississippi,  regarded  the  measure  with  deep-rooted  aversion.  They  clung  with 
tenacity  to  the  land  of  their  forefathers,  and  to  those  latitudes  where  the  varying 
climate,  and  the  happy  alternation  of  spring,  summer,  autumn,  and  winter,  gave  a 
piquancy  to  the  enjoyment  of  life.  The  chase  was  the  poetry  of  their  existence,  war 
the  true  path  to  honor,  and  the  traditions  and  reminiscences  of  their  forefathers  the 
proper  food  of  the  Indian  mind.  Books  were  for  scholars,  and  labor  for  slaves. 
This  was  Indian  philosophy. 

But  while  the  Indian  indulged  in  his  day-dreams,  the  race  which  labored  at  the 
plough,  the  anvil,  and  the  loom,  and  chained  the  rippling  and  murmuring  streamlet 
to  the  revolving  wheel  of  the  saw-  and  grist-mill,  was  rapidly  encompassing  him 
with  the  bonds  of  civilized  life.  There  were  then  no  railroads,  but  the  steady  and 
rapid  advance  of  civilization  foreshadowed  their  approach.  The  plan  of  removing 
and  concentrating  the  Indian  population  was  no  sooner  announced  than  it  was  warmly 
advocated  as  the  proper  mode  of  arresting  their  decline  and  averting  their  final 
extinction.  The  result  of  careful  scrutiny  into  their  condition  and  future  prospects 
by  the  President,  whom  they  regarded  as  their  great  political  father,  was  a  provision, 
while  yet  the  means  were  at  hand,  for  their  future  prosperity  and  permanent  welfare. 
As  such,  the  plan  was  detailed  to  the  tribes  by  the  officers  charged  with  the  care  of 
Indian  affairs ;  not,  however,  with  a  view  of  forcing  it  upon  them,  but  of  submitting 
it  to  their  calm  consideration  and  decision. 

The  Indians,  ignorant  alike  of  history  and  of  the  progress  of  society,  required 
time  to  consider  any  new  propositions  advanced,  and  to  realize  their  own  position. 
All  the  Northern  tribes  expressed  fears  as  to  the  healthfulness  of  the  Southern 
latitudes,  being  accustomed  only  to  the  bracing  Northern  seasons  and  to  the 
customs  of  Northern  hunters.  Their  very  mythology,  singular  as  it  may  seeni, 
warned  them  of  the  seductive  manners  and  habits  of  the  South.  It  was  a  difficult 


REMOVAL   OF  THE   TRIBES   WEST  OF   THE  MISSISSIPPI.  3C5 

matter  for  them  to  exchange  their  established  customs  for  others  entirely  at  variance 
with  them. 

The  intestine  wars  and  feuds  of  the  Indians  had  been  one  of  the  principal  causes 
of  their  decline,  and  in  some  cases  of  the  utter  destruction  of  tribes.     These  wars, 
which  had  no  limits  to  their  fury,  and  were  often  waged  without  any  clearly-defined 
object,  began  before  America  was  discovered,  and  continued  throughout  every  period 
of  aboriginal  history.     The  Indian  wars  have  in  fact  exercised  a  more  baneful  influ 
ence  on  the  prosperity  of  the  race  than  all  other  causes  combined,  with  the  single 
exception  of  their  passionate  craving  for  ardent  spirits.     Efforts  were  frequently 
made  to  put  a  stop  to  these  intestine  wars,  and  as  frequently  defeated,  but  after  the 
close  of  the  war  of  1812  the  efforts  were  again  vigorously  resumed.     Mr.  Monroe 
made  strenuous  endeavors  to  enforce  this  policy  throughout  the  eight  years  of 
his  administration.     The  several  expeditions  of  Long,  Cass,  and  Schoolcraft  to  the 
sources  of  the  Mississippi,  to  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone,  to  the  sources  of  the 
Arkansas  and  Red  Rivers,  to  those  of  other  principal  streams,  and  to  the  central 
portions  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  in  1820,  1821,  and  1822,  had  promoted  this 
purpose  by  accumulating  accurate  geographical  statistics  of  the  Indian  territory,  its 
inhabitants,  and  its  resources.     The  visit  of  the  venerable  Dr.  Jedediah  Morse  to  the 
Lake  tribes,  in  1820,  to  learn  their  dispositions,  feelings,  and  social  and  moral  condi 
tion,  had  the  same  tendency.1     This  period  witnessed  a  practical  renewal  of  the 
explorations  originated  by  Mr.  Jefferson  in  1804.     A  more  intimate  acquaintance 
with  the  Indians  afforded  that  knowledge  of  their  peculiar  habits  which  was  necessary 
to  their  proper  management,  and  to  induce  them  to  abandon  their  hunter  mode  of 
life  and  adopt  the  more  elevating  pursuits  of  civilization. 

As  internal  tribal  wars  were  continually  distracting  the  Indians,  one  tribe  tres 
passing  on  the  lands  of  another,  and  as  the  civilized  population  was  at  the  same  time 
pressing  into  the  ceiled  districts,  4t  was  thought  by  the  government  that  one  of  the 
most  practical  methods  of  allaying  their  territorial  disputes  would  be  to  establish 
definite  boundary-lines  between  their  possessions,  a  method  of  settling  their  difficulties 
which  had  never  occurred  to  the  Indians. 

A  series  of  conventions  held  with  the  Indian  chiefs  of  the  Western  and  North 
western  tribes  marked  the  early  part  of  Mr.  Adams's  administration,  the  first  and 
most  important  of  which  assembled  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  on  the  Upper  Mississippi, 
during  the  summer  of  1825,  under  the  auspices  of  General  William  Clarke,  then 
General  Superintendent  at  St.  Louis,  and  of  Governor  Lewis  Cass,  of  Michigan,  ex- 
officio  Superintendent  of  the  Northern  Department.  This  convention  was  attended 
by  the  Mendawacanton  and  Yankton  Dakotas,  or  Sioux,  of  the  St.  Peter's  and  the 
Plains,  the  Chippewas  and  Pillagers,  from  the  sources  of  the  Mississippi,  and  the 
Sacs,  Foxes,  lowas,  Winnebagoes,  Menomonies,  Chippewas,  Ottawas,  and  Pottawato- 
mies,  of  the  lakes  and  the  Illinois  River.  Maps  drawn  on  birch  bark,  giving  the 
outlines  of  their  hunting-grounds,  were  exhibited  by  the  several  tribes,  and,  after  a 

1  Morse's  Report  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  1  Tol.  8?o,  400  pp. :  New  HaTcn,  1822. 


366  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

full  discussion  with  each  of  their  respective  agents,  a  treaty  of  peace  and  limitation 
was  signed  by  them  on  the  29th  of  August,  1825.  The  same  plan  was  further  car 
ried  out  by  a  convention  which  assembled  at  Fond  du  Lac,  at  the  head  of  Lake 
Superior,  in  1826,  and  was  attended  by  the  chiefs  of  that  region.  A  treaty  was 
signed  by  these  representatives  of  the  Northern  tribes  which  established  peaceful 
relations  among  the  Indians  and  definitely  settled  the  boundary-lines  of  their  terri 
tories  up  to  the  forty-ninth  parallel  of  north  latitude.  A  convention  of  a  similar 
character  was  held  at  Butte  des  Morts,  on  Fox  River,  for  the  purpose  of  settling 
the  boundary  between  the  Menomonics  and  Chippewas,  and  certain  bands  of  the 
Oncidas  and  Stockbridges,  better  known  by  the  designation  of  New  York  Indians, 
which  resulted  in  the  signing  of  a  treaty  at  this  place,  August  11,  1827. 

These  treaties  with  the  hunter  tribes  of  the  North  secured  for  them  accurate 
boundaries,  and  the  acknowledgment  by  the  United  States,  as  well  as  by  the  other 
tribes,  of  their  claims  to  territory.  They  were  likewise  of  the  greatest  advantage 
to  them  in  their  subsequent  history,  and  gave  them  the  benefits  of  a  system  under 
which  they  began  to  exchange  their  surplus  lands  for  annuities  in  goods  and  coin. 

While  the  treaty  of  Butte  des  Morts  was  under  consideration,  the  Winnebagoes 
committed  some  hostile  acts  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  on  the  Mississippi.  They  there  fired 
into  a  boat,  plundered  several  individuals,  and  endeavored  practically  to  enforce  an 
obsolete  idea  that  they  had  a  right  to  interdict  merchandise  from  passing  the  portage 
of  the  Wisconsin  without  receiving  some  acknowledgment  therefor  in  the  nature  of 
toll.  General  Cuss,  who,  as  one  of  the  commissioners,  was  then  in  the  vicinity, 
immediately  embarked  in  his  light  canoe,  manned  by  skilful  Canadians,  crossed  the 
portage,  and,  entering  the  Mississippi  River,  journeyed  night  and  day  until  he 
reached  St.  Louis,  whence  he  returned  with  a  body  of  troops,  whose  sudden  appear 
ance  prevented  any  further  trouble  from  this  source. 

The  primary  arrangements  for  the  expatriation  of  the  Cherokees  and  Choctaws 
had  been  commenced  by  the  Indians  themselves  in  1817  and  1820.  Their  transfer 
ence  to  the  West  was,  however,  a  tedious  operation,  and  undertaken  only  after  a 
thorough  exploration  of  their  new  territory  had  been  made.  The  Indian  exercises 
great  caution,  and  is  never  in  a  hurry  in  the  transaction  of  business :  he  must  have 
time  to  think.  One  after  another,  the  tribes  residing  in  the  southern  and  middle, 
and,  finally,  to  a  considerable  extent,  those  in  the  northern  latitudes,  adopted  the 
plan  of  removal,  and  accepted  locations  west  of  the  Mississippi  in  exchange  for  those 
surrendered  on  the  east  of  that  river.  It  was  an  object  to  preserve  pacific  relations 
with  those  indigenous  tribes  in  the  West  on  whose  territories  the  Eastern  tribes  were 
to  be  concentrated,  and  who  yet  possessed  the  title  to  the  soil.  Those  stern  lords  of 
the  wilderness,  the  Osages,  the  Quapaws,  the  Kansas,  and  their  compeers,  required  to 
be  kept  at  peace  not  only  with  the  United  States,  but  also  with  each  other,  and  with 
the  tribes  from  the  east  of  the  Mississippi.  Parties  of  the  migrating  Indians 
required  from  time  to  time  to  be  directed  to  the  places  on  which  they  were  to  reside, 
and  to  be  furnished  with  the  means  of  beginning  life  there.  It  was  likewise  necessary 
that  their  annuities,  derived  from  former  cessions  of  country  should  be  apportioned 


REMOVAL   OF  THE   TRIBES    WEST  OF    THE  MISSISSIPPI.  367 

between  the  Eastern  and  Western  divisions  of  the  tribes  in  accordance  with  their 
respective  numbers.     Sometimes  the  tribes  settled  in  positions  whence  their  restless 
spirit  induced  them  to  remove  and  locate  elsewhere.      Murders  not  unfrequently 
occurred,  and  frontier  wars  were  prevented  only  by  judicious  negotiations,  military 
watchfulness,  and  a  system  of  compensation  for  all  losses.     The  onerous  official 
duties  incident  to  the  removal  of  the  red  men  were  ably  performed  by  the  veteran 
Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs  at  St.  Louis.     The  most  important  tribes  of  Ohio, 
Indiana,  and  Illinois  had  so  far  entered  into  arrangements  for  their  removal  as  to 
have  sent  out  either  pioneers  or  emigrant  parties.     Early  in  the  month  of  April, 
1827,  Elkswattawa,  the  Shawnee  Prophet,  arrived  at  St.  Louis  from  Wahpakoneta, 
with  the  Shawnee  tribe  on  their  route  to  the  West.     This  was  the  celebrated  man 
who,  assuming  the  prophetic  office,  had  in  1811  incited  the  alwrigines  to  wago 
war  against  the  United  States,  in  which  the  Indian  hosts  were  led  to  battle  by  Te- 
cumseh.     After  the  defeat  and  death  of  his  brother  Tecumseh,  the  Prophet  had 
ilcd  to  Canada,  where  he  lived  for  some  years,  until  the  long  continuance  of  peace 
removed  all  apprehension  of  mischief  from  his  oracular  voice,  when  General  Casa 
permitted  him  to  return  to  his  tribe  at  Wahpakoneta,  where  his  people,  having 
directed  their  attention  to  farming  and  to  the  raising  of  horses  and  cattle,  had  made 
considerable  advance  in  arts,  industry,  and  civilization.     He  was  a  man  of  original 
ideas,  strong  purpose,  and  much  natural  shrewdness,  and  was  well  adapted  by  his 
manners,  and  by  habits  of  extreme  abstemiousness,  as  well  as  by  his  total  lack  of 
selfishness,  to  win  the  favor  of  the  Indians.     In  stature  he  was  considerably  above 
the  average  height,  his  body  was  very  spare,  and  his  countenance  always  wore  an 
austere  aspect,  which,  with  the  loss  of  one  eye,  over  which  he  constantly  wore  a  patch 
or  blind,  tended  more  deeply  to  impress  the  Indians  with  an  idea  of  his  sanctity  of 
character.     His  revelations  were  promulgated  with  all  that  careful  attention  to  man 
ner,  circumstance,  time,  and  place  necessary  to  insure  them  full  credit,  and  but  few 
men  of  his  race,  possessing  such  marked  peculiarities,  have  figured  in  Indian  history. 
Bowed  down  with  the  accumulated  weight  of  years,  he  was  now  the  leader  of  his 
tribe  in  their  journey  to  a  land  of  refuge,  and  as  such  was  received  by  the  superin 
tendent  and  officials  at  the  West  with  friendship,  respect,  and  kindness. 

Assuming  an  oratorical  attitude,  he  paid  in  effect  that  he  had  come  in  obedience 
to  the  desire  of  the  President,  whose  wishes  had  been  communicated  by  the  agent. 
His  Great  Father  at  Washington  had  seen  that  the  Shawnees  owned  but  a  small  piece 
of  land,  and  that  the  whites. were  pressing  upon  them  so  much  that  they  could  not  long 
remain  on  it  in  prosperity.  Therefore,  to  insure  their  preservation  and  enable  them 
again  to  become  a  great  nation,  he  would  give  them  a  new  location  in  the  West,  where 
the  sun  shone  as  brightly,  and  the  soil  was  as  rich,  on  which  they  might  live  forever 
under  their  own  laws.  He  had  advised  them  to  send  a  party  to  view  it  and  judge  of 
its  fitness.  He  had  promised  to  sustain  them  on  the  way,  and  to  pay  them  for  their 
improvements,  orchards,  and  agricultural  implements  left  behind.  They  received 
this  voice  as  the  voice  of  wisdom  and  kindness.  They  regarded  it  as  one  with  the 
voice  of  the  Great  Spirit,  which  he  had  himself  heard.  It  came  over  the  Alleghaniea 


368  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

as  the  pleasing  sound  of  many  waters.  The  old  men  at  first  objected  to  the  plan. 
At  last  the  young  men  reviewed  the  subject,  and  said,  "  Let  us  go  and  look  at  the 
land."  He  got  up  and  came  with  his  people.  There  were  two  hundred  persons  with 
him.  There  were  some  left  behind  who  would  also  come.  They  did  not  come  of 
their  own  motion.  It  was  the  Great  Ruler  of  the  land  who  sent  them.  It  was  his 
promises  that  he  came  to  test.  He  now  asked  that  they  should  be  carried  out.  They 
were  hungry,  and  had  worn  out  most  of  their  clothes.  Their  horses  were  lean  and 
poor.  They  must  rest  to  gain  strength. 

The  removal  of  all  the  Indians  to  the  west  of  the  Mississippi  went  forward,  partly 
of  their  own  volition,  and  partly  under  the  influence  of  the  government  officials. 
The  movement  was  founded  on  the  strength  of  treaty  stipulations  alone.  The  more 
closely  the  plan  was  examined  by  both  white  and  red  men,  the  more  favor  it  received. 
Congress  was  much  interested  in  the  project,  and  several  acts  were  presented  to  the 
consideration  of  both  Houses  which  had  for  their  object  to  facilitate  and  give  the  force 
of  legal  security  to  the  plan.  On  February  1, 1825,  the  Senate  passed  a  bill  "for  the 
preservation  and  civilization  of  the  Indian  tribes  within  the  United  States,"  but  it 
failed  to  receive  the  sanction  of  the  House  of  Representatives.  On  December  27  of 
the  same  year  the  House  instructed  their  Committee  on  Indian  Affairs  to  devise  a 
plan  for  allotting  to  each  tribe  a  sufficiency  of  land,  "  with  the  sovereignty,  or  right 
of  soil,  in  the  same  manner  that  the  right  of  domain  is  secured  to  the  respective  States 
of  the  Union."  In  January,  1826,  the  bill  brought  forward  in  the  House  at  the 
previous  session  was  referred  to  the  Secretary  of  War,  with  the  view  of  obtaining 
such  information  as  the  subject  demanded.  Mr.  Barbour  made  a  very  elaborate 
report,  but  no  final  action  was  taken  in  the  matter.  The  principles  then  discussed 
were,  however,  incorporated  in  the  treaty  formed  May  8,  1828,  with  the  Cherokees, 
which  secured  to  that  nation  a  permanent  home  in  the  West,  under  the  most  solemn 
guarantee  of  the  United  States,  by  which  this  territory  was  granted  to  them  forever, 
with  an  appended  stipulation  that  they  should  be  provided  with  plain  laws,  and  that 
the  individuality  of  the  right  to  the  land  should  be  acknowledged  whenever  it  should 
be  desired. 


CHAPTER    III. 

CONGRESS  AUTHORIZES  THE  COLONIZING  OF  THE  INDIANS  IN  THE  WEST— THE 
TRIBES  GENERALLY  CONCUR  IN  THE  PLAN. 

EVERY  year  increased  the  pressure  of  civilization  on  the  Indian  tribes :  the  tide 
of  white  emigration  rolled  westward  with  ever-increasing  volume.  For  the  Indians 
the  cru  of  the  chase  had  passed  away  forever,  and  they  had  now  the  alternative  of 
employing  themselves  manfully  in  the  pursuits  of  agriculture  and  the  art*,  or  of 
perishing  from  indolence  and  want:  to  remain  where  they  then  were,  within  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  States,  was  impossible.  In  his  first  message  to  Congress,  delivered 
at  the  close  of  the  year  1829,  General  Jackson  introduced  the  subject  in  a  very 
forcible  manner. 

In  the  month  of  May,  1830,  Congress  passed  an  act  authorizing  the  necessary 
exchanges  and  purchases  of  lands  from  the  indigenous  tribes  west  of  the  Mississippi. 
This  act  legalizes  the  removal  of  the  Indians,  guarantees  them  the  possession  of 
their  new  lands,  agrees  to  defend  them  in  their  sovereignty,  grants  compensation  for 
improvements  made  on  their  late  possessions,  and  appropriates  five  hundred  thousand 
dollars  with  which  to  commence  the  removal  of  the  tribes.1 

1  AN  ACT  to  provide  for  an  exchange  of  lands  with  the  Indians  residing  in  any  of  the  States  or  Territories, 

and  for  their  removal  west  of  tho  river  Mississippi. 

SECTION  1.  Be  it  enacted  ly  the  Senate  and  If  ante  of  Rrpretenlativct  of  the  United  State*  of  America 
in  Congres*  auemllcd,  That  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  for  the  President  of  the  United  States  to  cause  so 
much  of  any  territory  belonging  to  the  United  States,  west  of  the  river  Mississippi,  not  included  in  any  State 
or  organized  Territory,  and  to  which  the  Indian  title  has  been  extinguished,  as  he  may  judge  necessary,  to  be 
divided  into  a  suitable  number  of  districts,  for  the  reception  of  such  tribes  or  nations  of  Indians  as  may 
choose  to  exchange  the  lands  where  they  now  reside,  and  remove  there ;  and  to  cause  each  of  said  districts  to 
be  so  described  by  natural  or  artificial  marks  as  to  be  easily  distinguished  from  every  other. 

SEC.  2.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  for  the  President  to  exchange  any  or 
all  of  such  districts,  so  to  be  laid  off  and  described,  with  any  tribe  or  nation  of  Indians  now  residing  within 
the  limits  of  any  of  the  States  or  Territories,  and  with  which  the  United  States  have  existing  treaties,  for  the 
whole  or  any  part  or  portion  of  the  territory  claimed  and  occupied  by  such  tribe  or  nation,  within  the  bounds 
of  any  one  or  more  of  the  States  or  Territories,  where  the  land  claimed  and  occupied  by  the  Indians  is  owned 
by  the  United  States,  or  the  United  States  are  bound  to  the  State  within  which  it  lies  to  extinguish  the 
Indian  claim  thereto. 

SEC.  3.  Ami  be  it  further  enacted,  That  in  the  making  of  any  such  exchange  or  exchanges,  it  shall  and 
may  be  lawful  for  the  President  solemnly  to  assure  the  tribe  or  nation  with  which  the  exchange  is  made,  thai 
the  United  States  will  forever  secure  and  guarantee  to  them,  and  their  heirs  or  successors,  the  country  so 
exchanged  with  them ;  aud,  if  they  prefer  it,  that  the  United  States  will  cause  •  patent  or  grant  to  be  made 
and  executed  to  them  for  the  same :  Provided  aluxtyt,  That  such  lands  shall  revert  to  the  United  States  if  the 
Indians  become  extinct  or  abandon  the  same. 

SEC.  4.  And  be  it  further  nacinl,  That  if,  upon  any  of  the  lands  now  occupied  by  the  Indians,  and  to 

II— 47  369 


370  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

In  his  message  to  Congress,  sent  to  that  body  on  the  4th  of  December,  1830, 
President  Jackson  again  presented  this  topic  to  their  notice,  and  solicited  for  it  their 
mature  consideration.  "  It  gives  me  pleasure,"  said  he,  "  to  announce  to  Congress  that 
the  benevolent  policy  of  the  government,  steadily  pursued  for  nearly  thirty  years,  in 
relation  to  the  removal  of  the  Indians  beyond  the  white  settlements,  is  approaching 
to  a  happy  consummation.  Two  important  tribes,  the  Choctaws  and  the  Chickasaws, 
have  accepted  the  provision  made  for  their  removal  at  the  last  session  of  Congress, 
and  it  is  believed  that  their  example  will  induce  the  remaining  tribes,  also,  to  seek 
the  same  obvious  advantages." 

Obvious  as  these  advantages  seemed  to  men  familiar  with  history  and  the  civil 
polity  of  nations,  the  Indians  were  slow  to  comprehend  and  loath  to  admit  them. 
Meantime,  Georgia  and  Alabama  sedulously  pressed  the  subject  on  the  notice  of  the 
government,  which  at  length  made  provision  for  the  settlement  of  the  question  as  a 
necessary  measure  for  preserving  the  quiet  and  promoting  the  prosperity  of  the 
States.  Time  was,  however,  required  to  adjust  the  controversy,  the  discussions  mean 
time  being  continued  with  vigor.  One  year^later  the  Executive  again  presented  the 
subject  to  Congress,  and  acquainted  them  with  the  progress  of  the  experiment,  at  the 
same  time  expressing  his  decided  conviction  that  colonization  was  the  only  feasible 
method  of  relieving  both  the  States  and  the  Indian  tribes  from  tbeir  constantly 
accumulating  embarrassments. 

"  Time  and  experience  have  proved,"  said  the  President,  "  that  the  abode  of  the 
native  Indian  within  State  limits  is  dangerous  to  their  peace,  and  injurious  to  him- 


be  exchanged  for,  there  should  be  such  improvements  as  add  value  to  the  land  claimed  by  anj  individual  or 
individuals  of  such  tribes  or  nations,  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  for  the  President  to  cause  such  value  to  be 
ascertained  by  appraisement  or  otherwise,  and  to  cause  such  ascertained  value  to  be  paid  to  the  person  or  per 
sons  rightfully  claiming  such  improvements.  And  upon  the  payment  of  such  valuation  the  improvements  so 
valued  and  paid  for  shall  pass  to  the  United  States,  and  possession  shall  not  afterwards  be  permitted  to  any 
of  the  same  tribe. 

SEC.  5.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  npon  the  making  of  any  such  exchange  as  is  contemplated  by 
thia  act,  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  for  the  President  to  cause  such  aid  and  assistance  to  be  furnished  to  the 
emigrants  as  may  be  necessary  and  proper  to  enable  them  to  remove  to  and  settle  in  the  country  for  which 
they  may  have  exchanged ;  and  also  to  give  them  such  aid  and  assistance  as  may  be  necessary  for  their 
support  and  subsistence  for  the  first  year  after  their  removal. 

SEC.  6.  And  le  it  further  enacted,  That  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  for  the  President  to  cause  cnch  tribe 
or  nation  to  be  protected  at  their  new  residence  against  all  interruption  or  disturbance  from  any  other  tribe  or 
nation  of  Indians,  or  from  any  other  person  or  persons  whatever. 

SEC.  7.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  for  the  President  to  have  the  same 
superintendence  and  care  over  any  tribe  or  nation  in  the  country  to  which  they  may  remove,  as  contemplated 
by  this  act,  that  he  is  now  authorized  to  have  over  them  at  their  present  places  of  residence  :  Provided,  That 
nothing  in  this  act  contained  shall  be  construed  as  authorizing  or  directing  the  violation  of  any  existing  treaty 
between  the  United  States  and  any  of  the  Indian  tribes.  i 

SEC.  8.  And  be  it  further  enacted,  That  for  the  purpose  of  giving  effect  to  the  provisions  of  this  act 
the  sum  of  five  hundred  thousand  dollars  is  hereby  appropriated,  to  be  paid  out  of  any  money  in  the 
Treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated. 

APPROVED  May  28, 1830. 


REMOVAL   OF  THE  TRIBES   WEST  OF   THE  MISSISSIPPI.  371 

self.  In  accordance  with  my  recommendation  at  a  former  session  of  Congress,  an 
appropriation  of  five  hundred  thousand  dollars  was  made  to  aid  the  voluntary  removal 
of  the  various  tribes  beyond  the  limits  of  the  States.  At  the  last  session  I  had  the 
happiness  to  announce  that  the  Chickasaws  and  Choctaws  had  accepted  the  generous 
offer  of  the  government  and  agreed  to  remove  beyond  the  Mississippi  River,  by 
which  the  whole  of  the  State  of  Mississippi  and  the  western  part  of  Alabama  will 
be  freed  from  Indian  occupancy  and  opened  to  a  civilized  population.  The  treaties 
with  these  tribes  are  in  course  of  execution,  and  their  removal,  it  is  hoped,  will  be 
completed  in  the  course  of  1832. 

"  At  the  request  of  the  authorities  of  Georgia,  the  registration  of  Cherokee  Indians 
for  emigration  has  been  resumed,  and  it  is  confidently  expected  that  one-half,  if  not 
two-thirds,  of  that  tribe  will  follow  the  wise  example  of  their  more  westerly  brethren. 
Those  who  prefer  remaining  at  their  present  homes  will  hereafter  be  governed  by 
the  laws  of  Georgia  as  all  her  citizens  are,  and  cease  to  be  the  objects  of  peculiar  care 
on  the  part  of  the  general  government. 

"  During  the  present  year  the  attention  of  the  government  has  been  particularly 
directed  to  those  tribes  in  the  powerful  and  growing  State  of  Ohio,  where  considerable 
tracts  of  the  finest  lands  were  still  occupied  by  the  aboriginal  proprietors.  Treaties, 
either  absolute  or  conditional,  have  been  made,  extinguishing  the  whole  Indian  title 
to  the  reservations  in  that  State,  and  the  time  is  not  distant,  it  is  hoped,  when  Ohio 
will  be  no  longer  embarrassed  with  the  Indian  population.  The  same  measure  will 
be  extended  to  Indiana  as  soon  as  there  is  reason  to  anticipate  success. 

"  It  is  confidently  believed  that  perseverance  for  a  few  years  in  the  present  policy 
of  the  government  will  extinguish  the  Indian  title  to  all  lands  lying  within  the  States 
comprising  our  Federal  Union,  and  remove  beyond  their  limits  every  Indian  who  is 
not  willing  to  submit  to  their  laws.  Thus  will  all  conflicting  claims  to  jurisdiction 
between  the  States  and  the  Indian  tribes  be  put  to  rest.  It  is  pleasing  to  reflect  that 
results  so  beneficial,  not  only  to  the  States  immediately  concerned,  but  to  the  har 
mony  of  the  Union,  will  have  been  accomplished  by  measures  equally  advantageous 
to  the  Indians.  What  the  native  savages  become  when  surrounded  by  a  dense  pop 
ulation,  and  by  mixing  with  the  whites,  may  be  seen  in  the  miserable  remnants  of  a 
few  Eastern  tribes,  deprived  of  political  and  civil  rights,  forbidden  to  make  contracts, 
and  subjected  to  guardians,  dragging  out  a  wretched  existence,  without  excitement, 
•without  hope,  and  almost  without  thought." 

Petitions  were  presented  to  Congress  in  favor  of  the  rights  of  the  Indians,  and 
also  remonstrances  against  their  removal,  some  of  which  were  the  elaborate  produc 
tions  of  benevolent  societies,  while  others  emanated  from  distinguished  individuals. 
The  citizens  of  Massachusetts  and  Pennsylvania  took  a  prominent  part  in  these 
.    efforts.     In  the  autumn  of  this  year  the  Secretary  of  War,  to  whom  was  intrusted 
the  execution  of  the  act  of  March  28, 1830,  presented  a  comprehensive  report  to 
Congress,  in  which  the  subject  is  viewed  in  all  its  aspects,  speculative  and  practical, 
theoretical  and  demonstrative.     In  it  he  made  the  following  excellent  suggestions : 
"  1.  A  solemn  declaration,  similar  to  that  already  inserted  in  some  of  the  treaties, 


372  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

i 

that  the  country  assigned  to  the  Indians  shall  be  theirs  as  long  as  they  or  their 
descendants  may  occupy  it,  and  a  corresponding  determination  that  onr  settlements 
shall  not  spread  over  it ;  and  every  effort  should  be  used  to  satisfy  the  Indians  of  our 
sincerity  and  of  their  security.  Without  this  indispensable  preliminary,  and  without 
full  confidence  on  their  part  in  our  intentions,  and  in  our  abilities  to  give  these  effect, 
their  change  of  position  would  bring  no  change  of  circumstances. 

"  2.  A  determination  to  exclude  all  ardent  spirits  from  their  new  country.  This 
will  no  doubt  be  difficult ;  but  a  system  of  surveillance  upon  the  borders,  and  of  proper 
police  and  penalties,  will  do  much  towards  the  extermination  of  an  evil  which,  where 
it  exists  to  any  considerable  extent,  is  equally  destructive  of  their  present  comfort  and 
their  future  happiness. 

"  3.  The  employment  of  an  adequate  force  in  their  immediate  vicinity,  and  a 
fixed  determination  to  suppress,  at  all  hazards,  the  slightest  attempt  at  hostilities 
among  themselves. 

"  So  long  as  a  passion  for  war,  fostered  and  encouraged  as  it  is  by  their  opinions 
and  habits,  is  allowed  free  scope  for  exercise,  it  will  prove  the  master-spirit,  con 
trolling  if  not  absorbing  all  other  considerations.  And  if  in  checking  this  evil  some 
examples  should  become  necessary,  they  would  be  sacrifices  to  humanity,  and  not  to 
severity. 

"4.  Encouragement  to  the  severally  of  property,  and  such  provision  for  its 
security  as  their  own  regulations  do  not  afford  and  as  may  be  necessary  for  its 
enjoyment. 

"  5.  Assistance  to  all  who  may  require  it  in  the  opening  of  farms  and  in  procuring 
domestic  animals  and  instruments  of  agriculture. 

"  6.  Leaving  them  in  the  enjoyment  of  their  peculiar  institutions  as  far  as  may 
be  compatible  with  their  own  safety  and  ours,  and  with  the  great  objects  of  their 
prosperity  and  improvement. 

"  7.  The  eventual  employment  of  persons  competent  to  instruct  them  as  far  and 
as  fast  as  their  progress  may  require,  and  in  such  manner  as  may  be  most  useful  to 
them." 

The  Indian,  although  slow  to  investigate  and  decide,  began  to  regard  the  plan 
with  favor,  and  the  better  he  understood  it  the  more  did  he  approve  of  it.  From 
this  period  increased  activity  and  efficiency  were  imparted  to  the  colonization  project. 
On  the  4th  of  April,  1832,  the  Creeks  entered  into  a  treaty  with  the  Secretary 
of  War  by  which  they  ceded  all  their  lands  east  of  the  Mississippi  to  the  United 
States  government  in  consideration  of  a  grant  of  seven  million  acres  in  the  Indian 
Territory  west  of  that  river,  to  which  they  agreed  to  remove  at  the  earliest  practicable 
period. 

At  Payne's  Landing,  on  the  Ocklawaha  River,  May  9, 1832,  the  Seminoles  ceded 
their  lands  in  Florida,  and  agreed  to  migrate  to  the  country  of  the  Creeks,  west  of 
the  Mississippi,  there  to  reunite  themselves  with  this  cognate  tribe.  This  treaty 
provided  for  the  immediate  payment  of  fifteen  thousand  dollars  in  cash,  and  the  sum 
of  seven  thousand  dollars  was  agreed  to  be  paid  as  a  reimbursement  to  owners  of 


REMOVAL   OF  THE   TRIBES   WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI.  373 

fugitive  slaves.  This,  and  other  features  of  the  treaty,  the  Seminoles  did  not,  on 
reflection,  deem  satisfactory,  and  it  has  been  referred  to  as  one  of  the  original  causes 
of  the  Florida  war.  They  claimed  that  their  assent  was  obtained  through  the 
influence  of  intoxicating  liquors  and  bribery,  denied  its  validity,  and  refused  to 
remove  from  the  reservations  assigned  them  in  former  treaties. 

October  11, 1832,  the  Appalachicolas  renewed  a  prior  agreement  to  remove  to  the 
•west  of  the  Mississippi,  and  to  surrender  the  tract  on  which  they  lived  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Appalachicola  River.  The  Chickasaws,  finding  themselves  surrounded  by 
adverse  circumstances,  followed  these  examples  by  ceding,  October  20,  1832,  their 
entire  territories  east  of  the  Mississippi  River.  This  convention,  known  as  the  treaty 
of  Pontitock  Creek,  is  remarkable  for  the  introduction  of  a  stipulation  of  a  new 
character.  The  Chickasaws  direct  that  the  lands  ceded  be  subdivided  and  sold  for 
their  benefit  in  the  Land  Office  of  the  United  States,  which  provision  manifests  more 
forecast  than  the  tribes  have  generally  evinced,  and  in  effect  has  secured  their  future 
prosperity  and  independence. 

October  24,  1832,  the  Kickapoos,  by  the  treaty  of  Castor  Hill,  in  Missouri, 
acceded  to  the  plan  of  removal.  On  the  26th  of  October  the  Pottawatomies  ceded 
their  lands  in  Indiana,  taking  in  payment  annuities  in  money,  and  agreed  to  accept 
a  location  in  the  Indian  Territory,  west  of  the  Mississippi.  On  the  26th  of  the 
same  month,  the  Shawnees  and  Pelawares,  near  Cape  Girardeau,  ceded  their  old 
Spanish  location  in  that  quarter,  with  the  view  of  removing  West,  and  on  the  same 
day  the  Piankeshaws  and  Peorias  also  accepted  a  location  in  that  region.  On  the 
29th  the  Weas  gave  their  assent  to  the  project.  On  the  same  day  the  Senecas  and 
Shawnees  of  the  Neosho  relinquished  the  title  to  their  lands,  the  more  perfectly  to 
accommodate  themselves  to  the  new  plan  of  settlement. 

Without  these  details  it  is  impossible  to  form  an  adequate  idea  of  the  class  of 
duties  which  originated  from  this  scheme  of  colonization.  The  labor  was  incessant, 
and  required  to  be  renewed  year  after  year.  It  was  difficult  to  satisfy  the  Indians,  as 
they  were  ignorant  of  all  the  primary  elements  of  knowledge,  and  very  suspicious 
of  the  white  man's  arts.  Knowing  nothing  of  the  first  principles  of  geometry,  space 
and  quantity  were  estimated  in  gross.  To  reduce  miles  to  acres,  roods,  chains,  and 
links  was  an  art  requiring  arithmetical  accuracy.  They  had  likewise  no  correct  or 
scientific  standard  of  value  for  coins.  They  required  to  be  located  and  re-located, 
informed  and  re-informed,  paid  and  re-paid.  This  was  especially  the  ease  with  the 
hunter  tribes,  whose  standard  of  value  had  not  long  previously  been  a  beaver-skin, 
and  whose  hind-measure  had  been  a  day's  or  a  half-day's  walk. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE  BLACK-HAWK  WAR. 

WHILE  the  removal  of  the  tribes  from  the  Southwest  to  their  .new  location  in  the 
West  was  proceeding  prosperously,  a  sudden  and  unexpected  difficulty  arose  with 
some  tribes  residing  along  the  banks  of  the  Upper  Mississippi. 

The  remote  key-note  of  the  war-song  had  been  sounded  by  the  Wyandot,  Shaw- 
nee,  and  Delaware  prophets  in  1783,  by  Elkswattawa  in  1812,  and  by  the  Creek 
prophets  in  1814.  The  government  of  the  Union  had  in  various  ways  been  apprised 
of  the  dissatisfaction  and  threatened  hostility  of  the  Sacs  and  the  Foxes.  The  Sac 
chief  Black  Hawk,  or  Muccodakakake,  was  born  in  1767  at  the  Sac  village  on  Rock 
River,  Wisconsin.  His  grandfather  had  lived  near  Montreal,  whence  his  father, 
Pytsa,  had  emigrated  to  the  boundless  and  attractive  field  of  the  great  West. "  He 
was  not  a  chief's  son,  but  rose  to  that  station  through  his  own  ability,  having  attained 
great  distinction  by  his  successes  in  war-parties.  Black  Hawk  was  one  of  those 
dreamers  and  fosters  of  the  aboriginal  race  who  mistake  the  impressions  of  dreams 
for  revelations  of  the  Great  Spirit.  In  his  own  person  he  united  judgment  with 
courage,  and  he  had  acquired  much  influence  in  the  Indian  councils.  Pyesa  having 
emigrated  to  the  West  while  Great  Britain  exercised  sway  over  it,  his  preference  for 
that  power  was  very  decided.  His  son,  holding  the  same  views,  kept  up  the  bias 
by  annual  visits  to  Maiden,  where  presents  were  distributed  by  the  British  Indian 
Department  to  the  tribes,  whether  residents  of  the  United  States  or  not.  Tales  of 
the  generous  policy  of  the  British  towards  the  Indians,  and  of  the  grasping  spirit 
of  the  Americans,  had  been  circulated  for  years  by  every  foreign  subordinate  in  the 
Indian  Territory,  who  had  selfish  aims  to  promote  thereby,  and  who  was  at  the  same 
time  indebted  to  the  clemency  of  the  American  system  for  permission  to  remain  in 
the  country  the  policy  of  which  he  traduced.  Black  Hawk  had  brooded  over  the 
early  history  of  his  tribe,  and  to  his  view,  as  he  looked  down  the  vista  of  years,  the 
former  times  appeared  much  better  than  the  present,  and  the  vision  so  wrought  upon 
his  susceptible  imagination  that  he  began  to  look  upon  the  past  as  a  veritable  golden 
age.  He  had  some  remembrance  of  a  treaty  made  by  General  Harrison  in  1804,  to 
which  his  people  had  not  given  their  assent ;  and  his  feelings  were  with  difficulty 
controlled  when  he  was  desired  to  leave  the  Rock  River  Valley  in  compliance  with  a 
treaty  made  with  General  Scott  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  July  15,  1830,  by  Keokuk,  a 
friendly  chief.  That  valley,  however,  he  peacefully  abandoned  with  his  tribe  on 
being  notified,  and  in  1831  went  to  the  west  of  the  Mississippi ;  but  he  had  spent  his 
youth  in  that  locality,  and  the  more  he  thought  of  it  the  more  determined  he  was  to 
return  thither.  He  readily  enlisted  the  sympathies  of  the  Indians,  who  are  ever 
374 


REMOVAL   OF  THE   TRIBES   WEST  OF  TUB  MISSISSIPPI.  375 

prone  to  ponder  on  their  real  or  imaginary  wrongs ;  and  it  may  be  readily  con 
jectured  that  what  Indian  counsel  could  not  accomplish,  Indian  prophecy  would. 
Without  doubt  he  was  encouraged  in  his  course  by  some  tribes,  who  finally  deserted 
him  and  denied  their  complicity  when  he  took  up  arms  and  began  to  experience 
reverses.     Black  Hawk  claimed  to  have  close  relations  with  the  Foxes,  Winnebagoes, 
Sioux,  Kickapoos,  and  others.     Early  in  1831  he  sent  a  symbolical  miniature  toma 
hawk,  made  of  wood,  and  smeared  with  vermilion,  to  the  principal  war-chief  of  the 
Chippewas.    This  warlike  invitation  was  received  at  the  Chippewa  agency,  Sault  Ste. 
Marie,  at  the  lower  end  of  Lake  Superior,  and  a  report  of  the  effort  to  enlist  the 
Chippewas  in  this  conspiracy  was  communicated  to  the  government  at  Washington. 
Mr.  Schoolcraft  was  directed  to  visit  the  suspected  district.     He  accordingly  passed 
through  the  Indian  country  lying  between  the  south  shore  of  Lake  Superior  and  the 
Mississippi,  traversing  the  lakes  and  rivers  in  light  canoes  manned  by  Canadian 
voyageurs,  and  under  a  small  escort  of  infantry, — devoting  the  season  to  that  expe 
dition.     He  did  not  discover  that  any  of  the  tribes  were  committed  to  open  hostility, 
but  there  appeared  to  be  a  great  familiarity  with  Black  Hawk's  plans,  and  the  tribes 
in  league  with  him  were  named.     In  consequence  of  these  disclosures  of  the  existing 
state  of  affairs,  the  spring  and  summer  of  the  following  year  (1832)  were  by  direction 
of  the  government  devoted  to  a  further  inspection  of  the  Sioux  and  Chippewa  tribes 
towards  the  north.1 

The  Rock  River  Valley  and  the  adjacent  country  was  ceded  to  the  United  States, 
November  3,  1804,  by  the  Sac  and  Fox  tribes,  with  a  proviso  permitting  the  Indians 
to  continue  to  reside  and  hunt  on  the  lands  until  they  were  required  for  settlement. 
The  Sac  chief  Black  Hawk  (as  we  have  seen),  after  an  undisturbed  occupancy  of  the 
lands  for  twenty-seven  years  subsequent  to  the.  negotiation  of  this  treaty,  affected  to 
believe  that  the  chiefs  who  ceded  it,  and  who  were  then  dead,  had  not  been  duly 
authorized  to  do  so,  or  that  after  such  a  lapse  of  time  his  tribe  was  unjustly  required 
to  comply  with  the  terms  of  the  treaty  by  crossing  the  Mississippi  to  its  opposite 
banks.  At  all  events,  this  plea  furnished  an  excuse  for  giving  vent  to  the  hostility 
which  he  had  long  felt  against  the  Americans. 

Black  Hawk  was  one  of  those  aborigines  who  dwell  so  long  on  a  single  idea  that 
it  appears  to  assume  at  last  sufficient  importance  to  engage  the  attention  of  the 
entire  Indian  race.  The  theme  of  Black  Hawk's  delusion  was  the  Americans,  the 
hated  Americans,  who  had  unjustly  supplanted  the  English  in  the  country,  and  who 
were  treating  the  Indians  with  injustice.  He  had  been  a  regular  attendant  at  the 
annual  convocations  of  the  aboriginal  tribes  in  Canada,  which  has  been  the  source 
whence  so  much  evil  political  counsel  has  been  transmitted  to  the  Indians  residing 
on  the  contiguous  territory  of  the  United  States.  It  was  there  that  presents  were 

1  These  visits  to  the  distant  Northern  tribes  were  the  immediate  occasion  of  the  discovery  of  the  remote 
source  of  the  Mississippi.  The  depth  of  water  on  the  vast  and  elevated  summits  being  favorable,  the  occasion 
was  embraced  to  trace  the  Mississippi  to  its  actual  source,  which  was  ascertained  to  be  a  considerable  body  of 
water  called  Itasca  Lake.— See  Duoovay  of  the  Sourm  of  Ov  .»A«/«i;./>i,  1  vol.,  New  York, 


376  THS  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

distributed  to  them  in  acknowledgment  of  the  services  they  had  formerly  rendered 
to  the  British  armies,  and  as  a  means  of  securing  their  aid  in  future  contingencies. 
Hither  had  Tecumseh  come  for  the  benefit  of  British  counsels  prior  to  and  during 
the  war  of  1812.  The  Indian  tribes  regarded  Maiden  as  the  metropolitan  centre, 
which  Detroit  had  been  before  the  days  of  General  Wayne.  The  aboriginal  chiefs, 
from  Detroit  to  the  Mississippi,  as  high  up  as  the  Falls  of  St  Anthony,  and  to  the 
head  of  Lake  Superior,  never  ceased  boasting  of  the  profuse  liberality,  the  wealth, 
and  the  power  of  their  British  Father.  So  far  as  these  demonstrations  were  confined 
to  the  limits  of  the  British  provinces,  no  objection  certainly  could  be  made  to  the 
policy,  but  on  the  tribes  of  the  United  States,  who  constituted  generally  by  far  the 
largest  part  of  the  assemblages,  the  effect  was  to  disturb  and  distract  their  minds, 
and  to  fan  the  flames  of  an  enmity  which,  if  left  to  itself,  would  have  died  away. 
Meantime,  the  few  blankets,  kettles,  and  guns  which  the  United  States  tribes  received 
were  no  equivalent  for  the  time  lost  in  long  journeys,  the  occasional  losses  suffered 
on  the  road,  and  the  moral  degradation  to  which  their  families  were  exposed. 

In  an  evil  hour  the  chief  determined  to  renew  the  experiment  of  keeping  the 
intrusive  feet  of  emigrants  from  his  native  valley  and  from  the  flowing  line  of  the 
Mississippi.  Black  Hawk  was  then  about  sixty-seven  years  of  age.  His  features 
showed  great  firmness  of  purpose,  and  his  wisdom  had  acquired  him  great  respect 
among  the  united  tribes  of  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  as  well  as  the  Winnebagoes,  lowas, 
and  surrounding  tribes.  He  had  undertaken  to  form  a  confederacy  of  the  tribes,  a 
task  much  easier  to  propose  than  to  effect,  there  being  no  certainty  how  far  the  tribes 
who  hearkened  to  his  messengers  and  counsels  would  fulfil  their  engagements  when 
the  trying  hour  arrived.  But  little  alarm  was  excited  by  the  details  of  Black 
Hawk's  proceedings.  At  the  St.  Louis  superintendency  not  much  importance  appears 
to  have  been  attached  to  the  menaced  hostilities,  not  only  because  the  time  was  so 
unsuitable  for  the  Indians  to  make  another  attempt  to  roll  back  the  tide  of  civiliza 
tion,  but  also  because  there  was  no  reliable  information  as  to  how  far  the  other  tribes 
had  consented  to  act  in  concert  with  the  Sac  chief.  The  officials  at  the  Michigan 
superintendency,  being  nearer  to  the  Indian  rendezvous  at  Maiden,  were  more  inti 
mately  acquainted  with  the  state  of  Indian  feeling,  and,  consequently,  as  considerable 
uneasiness  was  felt,  the  agents  on  the  Chicago  borders  were  instructed  to  watch 
closely  the  Indian  movements.  Everything  denoted  that  there  was  an  active  com 
bination  forming  among  the  tribes  of  the  Upper  Mississippi,  extending  to  the  waters 
of  Lake  Superior.  The  expedition  directed  to  that  quarter  in  June,  1831,  proceeded 
through  Lake  Superior  in  canoes  and  boats  to  Chegoimegon  or  La  Pointe,  thence 
entered  and  followed  the  Muskigo  or  Mauvais  River,  ascending  through  difficult 
rapids  to  a  lake  at  its  source,  passing  numerous  and  intricate  portages,  and  rafts 
of  drift-wood,  crossing  a  portage  into  the  Namakagon  or  south  branch  of  the  St. 
Croix  River,  and  then  descending  the  main  stream  to  Yellow  River.  At  the  St. 
Croix  River  it  was  ascertained  that  the  combination  of  Black  Hawk  embraced  nine 
tribes.  From  the  Yellow  River  the  expedition  proceeded  to  Lac  Court-Oreille,  or 
Ottawa  Lake,  at  the  head  of  Chippewa  River,  and  by  a  difficult  portage  to  the  Red 


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REMOVAL   OF  THE   TRIBES   WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI.  377 

Cedar  fork,  whence  it  descended  the  latter  to  the  mouth  of  the  Chippewa  River,  at 
the  foot  of  Lake  Pepin,  on  the  Mississippi.  In  its  course  it  diverted  from  their 
purpose  and  arrested  a  war-party  of  Indians,  under  Ninaba,  who  were  on  their  way 
to  the  Mississippi  to  attack  the  Sioux.  The  Mississippi  River  was  finally  descended 
to  Galena,1 

Indications  of  immediate  hostilities  were  apparent  in  the  spring  of  1832.  Early 
in  April  Black  Hawk  crossed  to  the  eastern  side  of  the  Mississippi  with  all  his  tribe, 
including  five  hundred  warriors,  took  possession  of  the  Rock  River  Valley,  and 
announced  his  intention  to  plant  corn.  Troops  under  the  command  of  General 
Henry  Atkinson,  U.S.A.,  were  ordered  to  ascend  the  Mississippi  and  preserve  the 
peace  of  the  frontiers ;  and  the  utmost  excitement  existed  in  the  contiguous  Illinois 
settlements.  As  soon  as  the  troops  were  known  to  be  on  their  way,  Black  Hawk's 
warriors  proceeded  to  the  residence  of  the  agent,  Mr.  St.  Vrain,  at  Rock  Island, 
whom  they  regarded  as  the  instigator  of  this  military  movement,  and  immediately 
murdered  him,  scalping  and  mutilating  his  body.  All  the  neighboring  families 
received  like  treatment.  The  Illinois  militia  were  promptly  ordered  to  the  frontier, 
and  an  action  took  place  on  the  14th  of  May  at  Sycamore  Creek,  in  which  a  battalion 
of  militia  under  Major  Stillman  were  severely  handled.  Black  Hawk,  in  his 
narrative,  says  that  they  retreated  before  a  determined  fire  from  forty  warriors. 

In  the  mean  time,  before  any  overt  hostile  acts  were  committed,  the  agent  of  the 
Chippcwus  was  instructed  to  make  a  reconnoissancc  of  the  Indian  country  extending 
north  and  west  of  the  parts  visited  in  1831,  for  the  purpose  of  acquiring  more  perfect 
information  as  to  the  extent  of  the  dissatisfaction. 

The  agent  was  furnished  with  a  small  military  force  of  but  twelve  men,  under 
the  command  of  Lieutenant  J.  Allen.  Leaving  the  agency  at  St.  Mary's  early  in 
June,  he  passed  through  Lake  Superior  to  its  extreme  head,  at  Fond  du  Lac,  ascended 
the  river  St.  Louis  to  the  Savanne  portage,  and  thence  entered  Sandy  Lake  and  the 
Mississippi.  The  latter  was  followed  through  its  windings  to  the  extreme  point 
before  visited,  at  Cass  Lake,  where  an  encampment  was  formed  and  the  baggage  left. 
The  height  of  the  waters  being  favorable,  Mr.  Schoolcraft  set  forward  from  this  point 
in  Indian  canoes  with  a  select  party,  fully  resolved  to  discover  the  source  of  the 
Mississippi.  The  search  was  pursued,  with  the  aid  of  an  Indian  guide,  up  falls, 
across  lakes,  around  precipices,  through  defiles,  over  drifts,  and  through  winding 
channels,  for  three  days.  The  result  of  this  toilsome^eurney  was  the  arrival  of  the 
party  at  Itasca  Lake,  which  is  generally  accepted  as  the  true  source  of  the  Mississippi, 
although  its  remotest  springs  are  several  miles  away. 

The  information  obtained  in  this  journey  demonstrated  that  the  Chippewas  and 
Sioux,  whatever  sympathies  they  had  with  Black  Hawk  and  his  scheme,  were  not 
committed  to  his  project  by  any  overt  participation  in  it  The  Indians  were  vacci 
nated,  as  directed  by  an  act  of  Congress,  and  their  numbers  definitely  ascertained. 
While  on  a  visit  to  the  large  band  at  Leech  Lake,  their  leading  chief,  Gueule  Plat, 

1  Sohoolcraft's  Expedition  to  Itasca  Lake. 
II—48 


378  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

exhibited  to  the  agent  several  British  medals  which  were  smeared  with  vermilion, 
the  symbol  of  blood,  but  it  appeared  to  be  done  rather  in  a  spirit  of  boastful  self- 
importance  than  "as  a  threat  of  alliance  with  Black  Hawk.  Information  obtained  in 
these  reconnoissances  implicated  the  Winnebagoes,  lowas,  Kickapoos,  Pottawatomies, 
and  some  Missouri  bands.  Meantime,  while  this  expedition  was  pursuing  its  ex 
plorations,  the  Sac  chief  had  commenced  the  war,  and  had  been  driven  by  Generals 
Atkinson  and  Dodge  to  the  mouth  of  the  Bad  Axe  River,  between  the  Falls  of  St. 
Anthony  and  Prairie  du  Chien.  Without  being  apprised  of  the  impending  peril, 
the  expedition  escaped  all  danger  by  ascending  the  river  to  the  influx  of  the  St. 
Croix  and  passing  up  that  river  to  the  waters  of  Lake  Superior. 

An  Indian  war  on  the  frontiers  is  always  appalling,  a  few  hundred  hostile  Indians 
having  the  power  of  alarming  the  inhabitants  and  disturbing  the  settlements 
throughout  a  wide  extent  of  country.  Their  apparently  ubiquitous  character,  their 
subtlety,  the  facility  with  which  they  thread  the  mazes  of  the  forest,  the  horrid 
cruelties  practised  on  the  defenceless  inhabitants,  and  their  wild  onset  and  noisy 
outcries  when  driven  into  open  conflict,  always  make  a  deep  impression.  The  ordi 
nary  militia  are  not  adequate  to  the  task  of  repelling  such  inroads.  A  man  suddenly 
summoned  from  his  plough  or  his  work-bench  to  the  field  has  not  sufficient  discipline 
or  knowledge  of  camp  duty  to  render  him  of  much  service  in  sudden  emergencies. 
Frequently  he  does  not  know  either  the  position  or  the  number  of  his  enemies,  and 
rather  helps  to  increase  the  confusion  and  panic  than  to  allay  it  Such  was  the  case 
when  Black  Hawk  made  his  inroad  into  Illinois  and  Wisconsin,  and  before  a  suffi 
cient  force  of  the  regular  army  could  be  drawn  from  remote  points,  the  most  that 
the  militia  and  volunteers  could  effect  was  to  keep  him  in  check.  For  a  considerable 
time  the  head-quarters  of  the  Sac  chief  were  located  at  or  about  Lake  Koshkonong, 
near  the  upper  end  of  Rock  River  Valley,  or  near  the  Four  Lakes,  now  the  site  of 
Madison,  the  State  capital  of  Wisconsin. 

One  of  the  appalling  incidents  of  this  campaign  was  the  fact  that  the  Asiatic 
cholera  first  made  its  appearance  among  the  United  States  troops  while  on  their 
march  to  the  scene  of  conflict  On  the  banks  of  the  St  Clair,  at  Fort  Gratiot,  at 
Michilimackinac,  at  Chicago,  and  at  every  harbor  for  vessels  and  steamers,  the  most 
frightful  mortality  occurred.  A  characteristic  feature  of  this  disease  was  the  rapidity 
with  which  it  terminated  in  a  fatal  result, — a  few  hours  intervening  only  between  the 
appearance  of  the  first  symptoms  and  death.  The  best  medical  men  were  at  fault, 
and  had  to  study  the  features  of  the  disease  before  they  could  cope  with  it 

This  calamity  added  to  the  delay  in  reaching  the  scene  of  action,  and  gave  the 
wily  chief  a  little  breathing-time.  General  Scott  landed  his  army  at  Chicago  with 
all  practicable  expedition,  and  instantly  sent  forward  a  detachment  to  reconnoitre  the 
position  of  Black  Hawk  and  force  him  to  give  battle.  A  general  action  is,  however, 
one  of  the  very  last  resorts  of  an  Indian  captain.  It  is  contrary  to  the  Indian  mode 
of  warfare,  which  consists  of  operations  in  detail,  secret  and  crafty  attacks,  and  sudden 
movements,  which  are  practicable  only  for  an  army  unencumbered  with  baggage. 
General  Scott  did  not  reach  the  Indian  country,  however,  until  the  last  gun  had 


REMOVAL   OF  THE   TRIBES   WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI.  379 

been  fired.  General  Atkinson  pursued  the  Indians  up  the  Rock  River  Valley,  where 
their  trail  gave  evidence  of  their  suffering  from  want  of  food.  In  this  pursuit,  the 
knowledge  of  wood-craft,  of  the  Indian  mode  of  warfare,  and  of  the  local  geography, 
possessed  by  Colonel  Henry  Dodge,  enabled  the  commander  to  conduct  his  movements 
with  great  precision.  Atkinson's  force  consisted  of  four  hundred  regulars  and  nine 
hundred  volunteers,  commanded  by  Generals  Henry,  Alexander,  and  Dodge.  After 
some  skirmishing,  Black  Hawk  was  traced  across  the  Wisconsin  River,  and  hotly 
pursued  towards  the  west  After  a  harassing  march,  his  ill-fed,  starving,  and  worn- 
down  forces  were  finally  overtaken  at  the  junction  of  the  Bad  Axe  River  with  the 
Mississippi,  where  a  steamer  (the  Warrior)  opened  her  fire  on  him.  While  in  the 
act  of  effecting  a  crossing,  on  the  2d  of  August,  the  American  army  arrived,  and  an 
immediate  action  ensued,  in  which  the  Indians  were  defeated  and  nearly  one  hundred 
and  fifty  of  them  killed.  Some  of  the  Sac  warriors,  and  the  women  and  children  of 
the  tribe,  had,  however,  succeeded  in  crossing.  Black  Hawk  escaped,  but  soon  after 
wards  voluntarily  delivered  himself  up  to  the  agent  al  Prairie  du  Chien. 

Black  Hawk  was  carried  a  prisoner  to  Washington.  Private  vengeance  clamored 
for  his  blood  in  expiation  of  the  foul  murders  perpetrated  by  his  warriors,  but,  to 
the  credit  of  the  President,  General  Juckson,  he  firmly  resisted  these  importunities, 
saying  that  the  chief  had  surrendered  as  a  prisoner  of  war,  and  that  he  should  bo 
treated  as  such.  After  his  advent  at  the  capital,  Black  Hawk  was  taken  to  see  the 
military  works  at  Fort  Monroe  by  an  officer  of  the  army,  who  was  appointed  to  escort 
him  through  the  seaboard  cities  to  his  own  country,  that  he  might  form  adequate 
notions  of  the  populousness  of  the  Union.  He  was  safely  conducted  to  his  home  on 
the  distant  Mississippi,  where  he  lived  many  years,  a  wiser  and  a  better  man.  After 
his  death  his  tribesmen  gave  to  his  remains  those  rites  of  sepulture  which  are  be 
stowed  only  upon  their  most  distinguished  men.  They  buried  him  in  his  war-dress, 
in  a  sitting  posture,  on  an  eminence,  and  covered  him  with  a  mound  of  earth. 

The  campaign  lasted  seventy-nine  days.  The  captives  were  taken  to  Rock  Island. 
They  informed  General  Scott  that  the  Winnebagoes,  our  professed  allies,  had  been 
operating  on  both  sides ;  and  in  the  treaty  which  followed  their  treachery  was  pun 
ished,  and  the  lands  upon  which  they  had  lived  from  time  immemorial,  and  to  which 
they  were  strongly  attached,  were  taken  from  them. 


CHAPTER   V. 

SUBDIVISION    OP    THB    INDIAN    TERRITORY    AMONG    THE    EMIGRANT    TRIBES- 
IMPORTANT  TREATIES. 

THE  proper  adjustment  of  boundaries  between  the  tribes  in  the  new  Territories 
became  a  subject  of  infinite  perplexity.  As  the  Indians  acquired  a  better  knowledge 
of  arithmetical  measures  and  quantities,  they  became  keen  bargainers,  and  strenuously 
demanded  their  full  dues.  It  sometimes  happened  that  boundaries  conflicted,  and 
whenever  an  interest  or  a  right  was  surrendered  to  accommodate  another  tribe,  the 
United  States  government  was  ready  to  grant  an  equivalent  in  land,  money,  or  right 
of  occupancy.  The  volumes  of  treaties  contain  an  amount  of  interesting  matter  on 
this  subject  which  is  creditable  alike  to  the  Republic  and  to  the  activity  of  the  Indian 
mind.  An  acre,  an  improvement,  a  salt-spring,  or  a  stream  of  pure  water  was  held 
at  its  just  value. 

On  the  14th  of  February,  1833,  the  United  States  engaged  to  secure  to  the 
Cherokees  forever  seven  millions  of  acres  of  land  in  the  Indian  Territory,  including 
the  smaller  tract  previously  granted  them  by  the  Barbour  treaty,  signed  May  6, 1828. 
By  a  separate  article  the  Cherokees  released  the  United  States  from  providing  "  a 
plain  set  of  laws,  suited  to  their  condition." 

On  the  same  day  a  treaty  was  concluded  specifying  the  boundaries  between  the 
United  States,  the  Creeks,  and  the  Cherokees,  which  also  provided  that  collisions 
between  the  tribes  should  be  avoided,  and  compensation  made  to  them  by  the  United 
States  for  the  improvements  they  surrendered,  in  order  to  enable  the  government  to 
furnish  the  Cherokees  with  their  full  quota  of  lands.  By  a  treaty  concluded  on  the 
28th  of  March,  1833,  a  definite  location  was  assigned  to  the  Seminoles,  who  had 
migrated  to  the  West  and  settled  down  among  the  Creeks.  On  the  13th  of  May  the 
Quapaws  relinquished  their  territory  to  the  Caddoes,  a  cognate  tribe  on  the  Red 
River,  in  consideration  of  a  tract  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  sections  of  land  granted 
them  by  the  United  States  on  the  Neosho,  with  liberal  donations  of  cattle,  oxen,  hogs, 
sheep,  agricultural  implements,  arms,  ammunition,  clothing,  the  services  of  a  black 
smith  and  farmer,  and  other  advantages. 

On  the  18th  of  June,  1833,  the  Appalachicolas,  of  Florida,  ceded  certain  lands, 
with  the  exception  of  some  reservations,  and  were  admitted,  on  the  principle  of  a 
reunion,  to  share  with  the  Seminoles  the  benefits  of  the  treaty  concluded  at  Payne's 
Landing.  It  was  stipulated  that  they  should  sell  their  reservations  before  leaving 
Florida  and  removing  West,  in  which  case  they  engaged  to  defray  the  expenses  of 
their  removal. 
380 


REMOVAL   OF  THE   TRIBES   WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI.  381 

On  the  21st  of  September,  the  Otoes  and  Missourios  surrendered  their  lands  to 
the  United  States  for  valuable  considerations,  agreeing  to  accept  another  tract  in  lieu 
thereof,  and  to  engage  in  agricultural  pursuits. 

Under  the  provisions  of  the  act  passed  July  14,  1832,  three  commissioners  were 
appointed  to  proceed  to  the  Indian  Territory,  west  of  the  States  of  Missouri  and 
Arkansas,  to  make  an  examination  of  its  character  and  resources  and  divide  it  into 
suitable  districts  for  the  expatriated  tribes.  These  commissioners,  after  an  elaborate 
examination  and  survey,  occupying  nearly  two  years,  made  a  report  on  the  10th  of 
February,  1834.  They  had  set  apart,  and  recommended  to  be  allotted  to  the  tribes, 
the  entire  district  west  of  the  States  of  Missouri  and  Arkansas,  comprised  between 
the  latitude  of  Red  River  and  that  of  the  Platte  or  Nebraska  River,  extending  west 
to  the  line  of  Texas,  thence  north  along  the  100th  degree  of  longitude  to  the  banks 
of  the  Arkansas,  and  up  the  latter  river  to  the  Rocky  Mountains.  The  Indian 
Territory  originally  included  Kansas  and  Nebraska. 

Congress  having  now  the  requisite  data,  and  being  prepared  to  act  definitely  on 
the  subject,  the  Hon.  Horace  Everett,  Chairman  of  Indian  Affairs  in  the  House  of 
Representatives,  made  an  elaborate  report  reviewing  the  policy  and  action  of  the 
government  from  the  beginning,  and  submitting  for  consideration  and  approval 
separate  acts  for  the  organization  of  the  Indian  Department,  for  the  revision  of  the 
original  act  of  1802  regulating  trade  and  intercourse  with  the  Indian  tribes,  and  for 
the  organization  of  the  Indian  Territory.  The  former  of  these  acts  received  the 
sanction  of  Congress, — the  plan  of  a  mixed  civil  and  Indian  government,  which  was 
prepared,  having  been  abandoned  because  it  was  regarded  as  in  some  respects  incon 
gruous,  and,  on  the  whole,  rather  in  advance  of  their  actual  necessities.  The  act  of 
March  28, 1830,  laying  the  legal  foundation  of  the  colonization  plan,  was  the  organic 
law,  but  these  acts  followed  out  the  general  features  of  that  law,  to  which  we  may 
ascribe  the  completion  of  the  colonization  plan  originally  recommended  to  Congress 
by  Mr.  Monroe  nine  years  previously. 

The  year  1835  was  distinguished  by  several  treaties  of  an  important  character. 
Hitherto  the  inchoate  confederacy  of  the  Pottawatomies,  Chippewas,  and  Ottawas  of 
Northern  Illinois  had  retained  its  ancient  position  in  the  vicinity  of  Chicago,  at  the 
head  of  Lake  Michigan.  On  the  26th  of  September,  1833,  they  ceded  to  the  United 
States  their  lands  on  the  western  shores  of  that  lake  in  exchange  for  a  tract  com 
prising  5,000,000  acres  in  the  West,  in  consideration  of  very  large  annuities,  to  be 
paid  in  coin  and  its  equivalents.  It  was  stipulated  that  $150,000  should  be  appro 
priated  to  the  purchase  of  goods  and  provisions,  $100,000  to  satisfy  the  claims  of 
sundry  individuals  to  certain  reservations,  $150,000  to  liquidate  the  claims  of  debtors 
against  the  tribes,  agreeably  to  a  schedule  annexed,  $280,000  to  the  payment  of 
annuities  of  $14,000  per  annum  for  twenty  years,  $150,000  for  the  erection  of 
mills,  farm-houses,  shops,  and  the  supply  of  agricultural  implements  and  stock, 
and  for  the  support  of  such  artisans,  smiths,  and  other  mechanics  as  were  neces 
sary  to  the  inauguration  of  their  colonial  existence  in  the  West,  and  $70,000  for 
educational  purposes.  This  treaty  encountered  numerous  objections  in  the  Senate, 


382  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

and  was  not  ratified  until  the  21st  of  February,  1835,  and  then  only  with  certain 
exceptions. 

The  principle  of  acknowledging  the  individual  debts  of  the  hunter  tribes  as 
national  obligations  had  been  previously  recognized  in  a  treaty  with  the  Qnapaws, 
concluded  May  13,  1833,  but  the  amount  appropriated  for  that  object  in  the  Chicago 
treaty,  and  the  extensive  personal  schedules  accompanying  it,  excited  remark  in  the 
Senate,  and  induced  that  body  to  question  the  propriety  of  nationalizing  the  debts 
of  the  tribes.  The  experience  of  the  Senate  also  made  it  averse  to  granting  large 
reservations  in  lands  to  the  tribes,  as  well  as  to  their  blood-relations,  especial  local 
friends,  and  habitual  benefactors,  out  of  the  tracts  ceded ;  since  it  was  found  that 
such  reservations,  being  in  a  few  years  surrounded  by  a  civilized  population,  acquired 
such  a  value  as  to  render  their  purchase  again  necessary  for  the  purposes  of  agri 
culture.  General  Jackson,  whose  knowledge  of  Indian  affairs  had  been  acquired 
by  personal  observation,  censured  this  policy  decidedly,  and  deemed  it  preferable  for 
many  reasons  to  compensate  both  the  tribes  and  their  blood-relations  with  payments 
in  money. 

In  order  to  accommodate  the  emigrating  tribes,  it  was  necessary  to  procure  the 
cession  of  large  tracts  from  the  aboriginal  nations  in  the  West,  who  roved  over 
immense  plains,  cultivating-nothing,  and  living  principally  on  the  flesh  of  the  buffalo. 
By  the  treaty  of  October  9,  1833,  the  Pawnees  ceded  a  large  district  lying  south  of 
the  Platte,  or  Nebraska,  which  afforded  locations  to  several  of  the  Eastern  tribes. 
The  Kansas,  by  the  treaty  of  August  16, 1825,  ceded  all  their  lands  lying  within  the 
boundaries  of  the  State  of  Missouri,  as  also  the  wide  tracts  lying  along  the  Missouri 
River,  to  the  west  of  the  western  line  of  the  State,  comprising  the  valleys  of  the 
Kansas,  Nodaway,  and  Nemaha. 

The  tract  ceded  by  the  Kansas  tribe  comprehended  a  large  part  of  the  present 
State  of  Kansas.  It  is  somewhat  remarkable  that  while  a  geographical  exploration 
was  being  made  of  this  Territory,  a  respected  and  intelligent  agent  reported  to  the 
Secretary  of  War,  May  12,  1834,  that  not  over  one-half  the  quantity  of  land  lying 
within  this  parallel  of  latitude,  north  of  the  Osage  Reservation,  and  extending  to 
the  Nebraska,  was  adapted  to  the  purposes  of  agriculture.  So  far  from  this  being 
the  fact,  it  is  precisely  this  part  of  Kansas  which  has  been  settled  most  rapidly  and 
is  most  esteemed  for  its  fertility  and  admired  for  its  sylvan  beauty.  Michigan,  one  of 
the  best  regions  in  the  West  for  the  growth  of  wheat  and  corn,  was  at  first  pronounced 
unfit  to  bestow  upon  the  soldiers  of  the  war  of  1812  as  bounty  lands.  In  1680,  that 
stout  old  joker  and  unfrocked  monk,  Baron  La  HUM  tan,  called  the  area  of  the  upper 
lakes,  now  an  immense  mart  of  commerce  and  agriculture,  "  the  fag  end  of  the 
world."  Not  only  subsequent  to  the  explorations  of  the  several  expeditions  to  the 
sources  of  the  Mississippi  and  Red  Rivers,  in  1820  and  1823,  but  even  so  late  as 
1836,  much  of  the  country  lying  north  of  Green  Bay,  and  nearly  the  entire  area  of 
Minnesota,  at  the  period  when  the  country  of  Lake  Superior  was  annexed  to  the 
State  of  Michigan,  was  considered  to  be  unfavorable,  if  not  wholly  unsuitable,  for 
agricultural  purposes.  A  large  part  of  the  Indian  Territory,  located  west  of 


REMOVAL   OF  THE   TRIBES   WEST  OF  TUB  MISSISSIPPI.  383 

Arkansas,  likewise,  at  the  period  of  the  inception  of  the  colonization  plan,  was 
reported  to  be  deficient  in  timber,  water,  and  fertility. 

The  Chickasaw  Indians  evidently  labored  under  this  impression  during  some 
years,  for  at  the  original  sale  of  their  lands  at  Pontitock,  October  20,  1832,  many  of 
them  expressed  a  determination  to  remain  on  their  old  reservations  and  there  culti 
vate  the  soil.     Two  years'  experience,  however,  caused  them  to  change  their  views. 
In  the  preamble  to  a  treaty  negotiated  at  Washington,  May  24,  1834,  they  express  a 
regret  that  they  "  are  about  to  abandon  their  homes,  which  they  have  long  cherished 
and  loved ;  and,  though  hitherto  unsuccessful,  they  still  hope  to  find  a  country 
adequate  to  the  wants  and  support  of  their  people  somewhere  west  of  the  Mississippi, 
and  within  the  territorial  limits  of  the  United  States."     By  this  treaty  they  ceded 
their  reservations  east  of  the  Mississippi,  at  the  same  time  making  some  personal, 
beneficiary,  and  eleemosynary  provisions.     They  also  directed  the  proceeds  to  be 
added  to  their  vested  funds,  and  agreed  to  send  a  delegation  to  the  West  to  seek  a 
location.     This  delegation  visited  the  West  during  the  year  1835,  and  selected  a 
location  in  connection  with  the  Choctaws,  a  closely-affiliated  people,  making  their 
own  terms,  as  tribe  with  tribe. 

There  now  remained  but  one  question  of  any  importance  to  settle  with  the 
Southern  tribes, — viz.,  that  with  the  Cherokees,  who  had  been  the  first  to  suggest  a 
Western  outlet  for  their  hunter  population.  The  nation  had  now  become  politically 
divided  into  two  parties,  the  one  being  favorable  to  emigration,  the  other  adverse 
to  it.  The  latter  numbered  among  its  leaders  the  noted  chief  John  Ross,  and  com 
prised  a  majority  of  the  nation.  Their  policy  contemplated  the  retention  of  their 
lands,  the  continuance  of  the  agricultural  labors  so  successfully  commenced,  and  the 
fostering  of  the  ample  educational  facilities  they  then  possessed,  as  well  as  of  those 
arts  and  domestic  industrial  pursuits  which  had  been  developed  by  their  location  in 
a  region  eminently  fruitful,  healthful,  beautiful  to  the  eye,  and  hallowed  by  associa 
tions  connected  both  with  the  living  and  the  dead.  The  emigration  party  contended 
that  these  superlative  advantages  could  not  be  permanently  maintained,  that  the  right 
of  sovereignty  to  the  country  could  not  be  wrested  from  the  States  who  possessed  it, 
that  schools  could  be  established  and  teachers  obtained  in  the  West,  and  that  they 
were  offered  an  ample  and  fertile  country,  beyond  the  limits  of  any  State  or  Terri- 
.  tory,  under  the  solemn  guarantee  of  Congress,  over  which  they  could  extend  their 
own  laws  and  form  of  government,  and  where  the  arts,  industry,  and  knowledge  they 
had  acquired  could  not  but  hasten  the  development  of  their  character  and  make 
them  a  powerful  as  well  as  prosperous  people. 

A  treaty  ceding  their  lands  was  concluded  at  New  Echota  December  29,  1835, 
with  the  party  favorable  to  emigration.  In  consideration  of  the  payment  of  five 
million  dollars,  they  ceded  all  their  territory  east  of  the  Mississippi  River,  and  agreed 
to  remove  to  the  West  and  rejoin  their  brethren  already  there.  Twenty  chiefs  of 
high  character,  and  possessed  of  influence  and  intelligence,  signed  this  treaty, — Ridge, 
Rogers,  Starr,  Guuter,  Belt,  and  Boudinot  being  of  the  number.  A  delegation  of 
influential  Cherokees,  members  of  the  opposing  party,  immediately  proceeded  to 


384  TBE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Washington  with  the  view  of  preventing  its  ratification  by  the  Senate.  The  subject 
excited  deep  interest,  but  the  validity  of  the  treaty  was  finally  sustained.  Some 
supplementary  articles  were  added  to  the  original  instrument,  and  the  Senate,  by  a 
resolution,  granted  to  the  Cherokees  an  additional  sum  of  $600,000  to  liquidate 
claims  held  against  them.  In  this  form  the  treaty  was  eventually  ratified,  May  23, 
1836. 

Other  conventional  agreements  followed.  A  treaty  was  concluded  with  the  Cad- 
does  as  early  as  July  1  of  this  year,  though  not  ratified  until  1836.  This  tribe,  in 
whom  we  recognize  one  of  the  bands  descended  from  the  indomitable  Kapakas  of  De 
Soto's  era,  ceded  all  their  lands  lying  within  the  boundaries  of  States,  and  expressed 
their  determination  to  remove  to  Texas,  which  was  not  then  a  part  of  the  United 
States. 

The  Comanches  and  Wichitaws,  two  important  tribes  then  residing  in  Texas,  now 
first  opened  a  political  intercourse  with  the  United  States.  A  treaty  with  them  was 
signed  on  August  24,  1835,  and  ratified  on  May  19,  1836.  In  order  that  it  might 
effectually  serve  the  ends  sought,  and  be  the  evidence  of  peace  and  friendship  not 
only  with  the  United  States,  but  also  with  the  tribes  by  whom  they  were  surrounded 
and  with  whom  they  associated,  it  was  assented  to  and  signed  by  large  delegations  of 
the  Western  Cherokees,  Choctaws,  Osages,  Senecas  of  the  Neosho,  and  Quapaws. 
The  Comanches  promised  to  restrain  their  marauding  parties  from  encroaching  on 
the  territory  of  the  United  States,  to  make  restitution  for  injuries  done,  to  receive 
Indians  and  citizens  of  the  United  States  on  terms  of  amity,  and  to  take  the  first 
steps  towards  progress  in  civilization. 

From  early  times  the  Chippewas  had,  under  their  generic  appellation  and  the 
various  local  names  of  their  several  subdivisions,  constituted  one  of  the  most  powerful 
bodies  of  Indians  in  the  Northwest.  In  a  region  half  covered  with  lakes,  to  be  good 
canoe-men,  expert  warriors,  keen  hunters,  active  foresters,  and  eloquent  speakeis,  are 
most  important  qualifications  in  the  members  of  the  tribes.  Having  been  friends  of 
the  French  from  the  period  of  their  landing  in  Canada,  the  Chippewas  adhered  to 
the  fortunes  of  that  nation  until  the  final  surrender  of  the  country  to  the  English, 
when  they  transferred  their  attachment  to  the  latter  power.  They  fought  for  the 
French  on  the  bloody  field  which  was  the  scene  of  Braddock's  defeat,  at  Michili- 
mackinac,  and  at  Detroit,  and  aided  their  new  allies,  the  British,  at  St.  Glair's  defeat, 
and  in  almost  every  battle  fought  during  the  Revolutionary  and  post-Revolutionary 
wars.  At  length,  having  been  defeated  on  the  Thames,  under  Tecumseh,  by  General 
Harrison,  they  returned  to  their  haunts,  vexed  and  dissatisfied.  In  1820  they  opposed 
the  entrance  of  an  official  American  exploratory  expedition  into  Lake  Superior,  and 
hoisted  the  British  flag  in  defiance.  Two  years  subsequently  an  American  garrison 
was  stationed  and  an  Indian  agency  located  at  the  foot  of  that  lake,  and  intercourse 
opened  with  them.  Some  few  years  later  the  British  withdrew  the  post  from  Drum- 
mond  Island,  at  the  entrance  of  the  Straits  of  St.  Mary,  and,  retiring  to  a  post  on 
Lake  Huron,  at  Penetanguishene,  planted  an  Indian  colony  on  the  large  limestone 
chain  of  the  Mauitoulin,  where  the  tribes  were  invited  to  settle  by  Sir  Francis 


REMOVAL   OF  THE  TRIBES   WEST  OF   THE  MISSISSIPPI.  385 

Head,  without  respect  to  the  political  boundaries  of  their-home  location.    This  policy 
was  ill  judged.     The  Indians  as  a  body  did  not  wish  to  engage  in  agriculture,  and 
such  as  did  found  the  soil  was  poor  and  that  there  existed  no  compensating  advan 
tages.     Many  of  the  tribes  lived  in  the  United  States  and  received  annuities,  which 
they  must  relinquish  by  permanently  migrating  to  the  Manitoulin.      Hence  the 
failure  of  the  plan.     Having  been  warriors  and  hunters  during  all  that  period  of 
their  history  with  which  we  were  acquainted,  these  tribes  still  continued  to  pursue 
the  same  vocations,  with  the  difference  that,  the  wars  in  which  they  had  been  allies 
of  Europeans  having  terminated,  they  were  destitute  of  employment,  while  at  the 
game  time  their  hunting-grounds  were  exhausted.     War  had  reduced  their  numbers, 
and  the  decline  of  the  fur-trade  had  left  them  in  debt.     But  one  general  mode  of 
recruiting  their  affairs  remained  to  them  :  they  were  possessed  of  immense  tracts  of 
lands,  some  of  which  were  of  a  rich  agricultural  character,  others  contained  valuable 
mines  and  were  covered  with  forests  of  timber,  while  on  the  lake  shores  were  valu 
able  fisheries.     Many  millions  of  square  miles  intervened  between  their  extreme 
borders.     To  cede  a  portion  of  their  lands  in  consideration  of  annuities,  and  to  pledge 
a  part  for  the  establishment  of  schools,  arts,  and  agriculture  in  their  midst,  was 
clearly  the  proper  course  to  be  pursued ;  and  for  this  purpose  a  large  delegation  of 
the  chiefs  visited  Washington  during  the  autumn  and  winter  of  1835-36,  where 
they  were  joined  by  a  similar  delegation  of  the  Ottawas.     With  respect  to  the 
Manitoulin  scheme,  it  required  means,  which  the  British  government  withheld,  and 
industry,  which  the  Indians  did  not  possess.     Besides,  if  they  were  inclined  to  form 
industrious  habits,  the  most  advantageous  position  for  their  exercise  would  be  that 
pointed  out  by  the  American  government,  in  the  fertile  fields  of  the  West. 

The  Chippewa  tribe  had  always  exercised  an  important  influence.  These  natives 
were  personally  a  tall,  active,  and  brave  race  of  men,  renowned  in  Indian  story  for 
prowess  in  war,  for  skill  in  the  chase  and  diplomacy,  and  for  their  excellent  oratorical 
powers.  It  was  observed  by  the  French,  at  a  very  early  period,  that  they  possessed 
a  body  of  oral  legendary  lore  which  made  their  lodge-circles  attractive,  and  an 
ingenious  mode  of  distinguishing  family  ties  and  clans  by  totemic  devices  or  picto- 
graphic  symbols.  A  similar  system  of  ideographic  signs  was  used  to  supply  the 
place  of  the  art  of  notation,  for  their  songs,  and  for  brief  memorials  displayed  on 
their  cedar  grave-posts. 

When  the  delegates  of  the  tribe  arrived  at  Washington,  the  Secretary  of  War,  to 
whom  the  government  of  Indian  affairs  at  that  time  pertained,  and  who,  having 
formerly  resided  in  the  West,  was  aware  that  the  Ottawas  and  Chippewas  held  their 
lands  very  much  in  common,  directed  the  Chippewa  chiefs  to  be  present  at  the 
conferences,  and  intrusted  the  negotiation  to  their  agent,  Mr.  Schoolcraft.  The 
conferences  occupied  the  entire  season,  delegates  having  been  invited  from  remote 
points,  and  the  deliberations  were  protracted,  but  on  the  28th  of  March  they  united 
in  a  general  cession.  The  Ottawas  and  Chippewas  of  Grand  Traverse  Bay  ceded  all 
their  territories,  extending  from  Grand  River,  on  the  lower  peninsula,  to  the  Straits 
of  Michilimackinac,  thence  north,  along  the  Straits  of  St.  Mary's,  to  Lake  Superior, 

ii— 49 


386  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

and  up  its  southern  shores  to  the  influx  of  Gitche  Seebi,  or  the  Great  River,  thence 
to  the  river  Menominee  of  Green  Bay,  and  along  a  water-line  to  the  place  of  begin 
ning  at  Grand  River  Lake,  Michigan. 

The  cession  of  1836  was  far  the  largest  ever  made  by  this  tribe,  including  hunt 
ing-grounds,  homesteads,  burial-grounds,  and  ossuaries  which  they  had  possessed  and 
cherished  for  centuries.  Seas  were,  in  fact,  comprised  within  the  limits  of  the  terri 
tory  ceded,  for  the  character  and  amplitude  of  the  lakes  entitle  them  to  be  so  called. 
About  16,000,000  acres  of  these  lands  were  located  in  the  upper  peninsula,  or  the 
Algoma  region,  lying  along  the  shores  of  Lake  Superior,  in  addition  to  those 
situate  in  Lower  Michigan.  Large  reservations  of  the  best  tracts  were  secured  to 
them  in  different  locations ;  upwards  of  $3,000,000  were  stipulated  to  be  paid  them 
in  annuities  within  twenty  years,  $300,000  to  be  expended  in  liquidation  of  their 
debts,  $150,000  to  be  distributed  in  gratuities  to  their  half-breed  descendants,  and 
presents  of  goods  and  clothing  to  the  amount  of  $150,000  to  be  made  them  on  the 
ratification  of  the  treaty.  Ample  provision  was  made  for  their  education,  and  for 
their  tuition  in  agriculture  and  the  arts.  Their  surplus  lands,  which  had  lost  their 
value  as  hunting-grounds,  thus  furnished  the  means  not  only  for  their  present  sub 
sistence,  but  also  for  their  instruction  in  arts  and  letters,  and  for  their  advancement 
in  every  element  of  civilized  life.  The  number  of  persons  who  participated  in  these 
benefits  was  about  four  thousand  five  hundred.  In  a  report  of  the  superintendent 
made  to  the  government  on  the  30th  of  September,  1840,  they  are  returned  on  the 
pay-rolls,  as  organized  in  their  separate  bands  and  villages,  at  five  thousand  and 
twenty  souls. 


CHAPTER   VI. 

WAR  WITH  THE  SEMINOLES  OP  FLORIDA— MASSACRE  OF  DADE'S  COMMAND- 
BATTLE  OF  THE  WITHLACOOCHEE— BATTLE  OF  OKEECHOBEE— OSCEOLA— 
GENERAL  WORTH  BRINGS  THE  WAR  TO  A  CLOSE. 

THE  Seminoles1  are  connected  with  the  Creeks  by  ties  both  of  blood  and  of  lan 
guage.  Their  sympathies  had  been  with  the  Creeks  in  their  long  controversy  with 
Georgia,  but  their  action  during  the  period  of  which  we  are  about  to  speak  appears 
to  have  arisen  from  internal  dissatisfaction.  In  an  elaborate  report,  made  February 
9, 1836,  and  communicated  by  the  President  to  Congress,  it  is  asserted  that  the  Semi 
noles  were  not  satisfied  with  the  terms  of  the  treaty  concluded  at  Payne's  Landing, 
May  9,  1832.  For  this  dissatisfaction  they  had  excellent  reasons.  Its  extent  and 
importance  were  not  then  known.  The  difficulty  does  not  appear  to  be  stated  in  any 
of  the  reports  made  by  the  agents,  and  the  government  was  ignorant  of  it.  On  their 
failure  to  comply  with  their  treaty  agreement  to  remove  to  the  West,  and  the  expi 
ration  of  the  time  granted  for  that  purpose,  troops  were  concentrated  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  Seminoles,  and  the  local  commander,  General  Clinch,  was  directed  to  organize 
companies  of  regulars.  In  February,  1835,  he  was  authorized  to  draw  from  the 
North  six  additional  companies,  four  of  which  were  artillery.  A  spirit  of  restlessness 
was  evinced  by  the  Indians  during  the  summer  and  autumn.  Several  outrages 
occurred  while  keeping  up  the  communications  between  fort  and  fort,  and  it  was 
apprehended  that  the  Creeks  secretly  participated  in  this  feeling  of  animosity.  In 
November,  General  Clinch  having  reported  that  it  would  be  necessary  to  call  out 
volunteers  for  the  protection  of  the  frontiers,  he  was  authorized  to  deliver  arms  from 
the  public  stores  for  their  equipment.  The  maintenance  of  the  lines  of  communica 
tion  between  distant  posts,  separated  by  a  wilderness  country,  interspersed  with  deep 
creeks,  and  frequently  with  dense  thickets  and  hammocks,  was  a  difficult  and 
harassing  service.  The  lines  were  attacked  at  various  points,  and  the  defiles  and 
quagmires  offered  singular  facilities  for  the  prosecution  of  the  Indian  mode  of  war 
fare.  Fort  King,  the  head-quarters  of  the  army,  was  situated  about  one  hundred 
miles  from  Fort  Brooke,  on  Tampa  Bay,  the  Withlacoochee  River  intervening.  The 
Indians  burned  down  a  bridge  over  a  deep  stream,  within  six  miles  of  Fort  Brooke, 

1  The  name  Scminole  designate*  their  assumption  of  tribal  independence,  and  was  intended  to  be  deroga 
tory  in  its  fint  application  by  the  Creeks.  It  may,  as  more  or  leas  censure  is  intended,  be  rendered  "  sepa 
ratists,  refractory  men,  rebels,  or  refugees."  The  period  of  the  separation  is  uncertain.  They  withdrew  from 
the  parent  tribe  either  while  residing  on  the  Altamaha,  or  at  an  earlier  period,  before  the  Creeks  had  reached 
the  eastern  terminus  of  their  migration.  When  the  Seminoles  left  the  upland  ralleys  of  Alabama  and  Georgia 
they  withdrew  to  the  intricate  raeesses  of  the  interior  lakes,  lagoon*,  hammocks,  and  erergUde*  of  Florida. 

387 


388  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

but  it  was  rebuilt    At  this  time  there  were  upwards  of  six  hundred  regular  troops 
in  the  field. 

The  Seminoles,  or  Mickosaukies,  occupied  all  the  extensive  range  of  country 
lying  between  the  Cape  of  Florida  on  the  south,  the  St.  Mary's  River  on  the  north, 
and  the  Perdido  on  the  west  Including  women,  children,  and  negroes,  the  estimated 
number  of  Indians  was  three  thousand,  four  hundred  or  five  hundred  of  whom  were 
fighting-men, — an  under-estimate,  as  events  proved. 

A  mail-carrier  had  been  murdered  in  August  within  six  miles  of  Tampa  Bay, 
Charles  Emathla,  a  chief  friendly  to  emigration,  had  been  scalped,  the  Mickosaukies 
were  hostile,  and  held  a  strong  position  on  the  Withlacoochee  River,  the  Tallassees 
were  accused  of  holding  secret  councils,  and  the  Pea  Creek  band  were  engaged  in 
continual  depredations.  The  aspect  of  affairs  was  extremely  threatening. 

While  matters  were  in  this  position,  on  the  23d  of  December,  Major  Francis  L. 
Dade,  with  a  detachment  of  two  companies,  one  six-pounder,  and  the  usual  cc  Jiple- 
iiu'iit  of  military  stores  and  supplies,  marched  from  Fort  Brooke,  on  Tampa  Bay, 
for  Fort  King,  distant  one  hundred  and  thirty  miles,  the  route  lying  through  an 
unsettled  country.  The  entire  force  numbered  one  hundred  muskets.  The  first  day 
he  halted  at  a  stream,  distant  seven  miles  from  Fort  Brooke,  called  the  Little  Hills- 
boro  River,  the  bridge  over  which  had  been  burned  by  the  hostile  Indians  and 
subsequently  rebuilt  The  following  day  he  progressed  six  miles,  reached  the  Big 
Withlacoochee  on  the  27th,  and  on  the  28th  arrived  at  the  defile  where  he  was  way 
laid  by  the  Indians,  distant  sixty-five  miles  from  Fort  Brooke.  He  was  attacked 
about  ten  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  28th.  It  appeared  that  the  Indians  had 
narrowly  watched  his  march,  disturbing  his  barricades  at  night,  but  keeping  out  of 
sight  on  his  flanks  during  the  day,  until  he  had  proceeded  a  few  miles  beyond  the 
Withlacoochee,  where  one  hundred  Pea  Creek  warriors,  under  the  negro  Harry,  and, 
as  has  been  estimated,  more  than  double  that  number  of  the  Mickosaukies,  and  of 
the  bands  of  Eufaulas  and  Alafias,  under  the  chiefs  Little  Cloud  and  Alligator, 
formed  an  ambuscade  on  both  sides  of  the  road.  The  column,  marching  in  .ordinary 
open  order,  was  suddenly  attacked  on  all  sides  with  showers  of  arrows  and  balls. 
Major  Dade  and  nearly  half  his  command  fell  at  the  first  fire.  Those  who  survived 
tcok  shelter  behind  trees,  while  Lieutenant  Basinger  poured  in  five  or  six  rounds  of 
canister  upon  the  Indians,  which  checked  them  for  a  time,  and  they  retired  behind  a 
small  ridge.  Under  the  direction  of  Captain  Gardiner,  the  soldiers  at  once  began  to 
construct  a  breastwork  of  pine-trees.  Soon  the  Indians  returned  and  opened  a  cross 
fire  upon  the  work  with  deadly  effect  About  two  o'clock  the  last  man  fell,  and  the 
Indians  rushed  into  the  defenceless  breastwork. 

Lieutenant  Basinger,  after  being  fatally  wounded,  had  his  throat  cut  by  a  negro. 
The  most  horrid  butchery  occurred.  Several  of  the  wounded,  who  knew  the  leaders 
of  the  enemy,  appealed  for  their  lives  in  vain :  the  cry  for  quarter  was  answered  by 
the  knife  or  tomahawk.  Not  an  officer  nor  any  of  the  command  escaped,  except  two 
soldiers  who  crept  off.  After  being  badly  wounded,  but  yet  remaining  perfectly 
conscious,  they  lay  motionless  among  the  dead  until  an  opportunity  offered  for 


REMOVAL   OF  THE   TRIBES    WEST  OF   TI1E  MISSISSIPPI.  389 

escape.     Some  accounts  estimate  the  American  loss  at  one  hundred  and  twelve  men. 
The  Indians  had  three  killed  and  five  wounded. 

Such  was  the  massacre  (for  battle  it  was  not)  of  the  Withlacoochee,  the  news  of 
which  operated  like  an  electric  shock,  and  made  as  deep  an  impression  on  the  Amer 
icans  as  the  massacre  at  Cabul  did,  in  after-times,  on  the  British  in  India.  An  officer 
writing  from  Fort  Brooke  on  the  1st  of  January,  four  days  after  the  sanguinary 
event,  says,  "  Such  are  the  Indian  combinations  that  it  is  not  considered  practicable 
to  force  or  keep  open  a  communication  with  Fort  King  with  less  than  a  well  appointed 
and  instructed  force  of  one  thousand  men.  Three  out  of  four  bridges  are  destroyed, 
and  two  fords  are  very  difficult,  and  the  country  may  generally  be  described  as  a 
series  of  ambuscades  and  defiles." 

On  the  31st  of  December,  General  Clinch,  with  two  hundred  regulars  and  a  large 
force  of  militia  volunteers,  marched  to  the  Withlacoochee,  and  fought  a  sharp  action 
on  the  banks  of  that  stream,  near  the  scene  of  Dade's  defeat,  with  the  same  Indians, 
who  manifested  as  much  determined  intrepidity  as  they  had  previously  evinced.  The 
regulars  and  twenty-seven  volunteers  had  crossed  the  river  when  the  attack  began. 
The  Indians,  led  by  Osceola  and  Alligator,  numbered  two  hundred  and  fifty.  The 
latter  were  protected  by  a  heavy  hammock  and  scrub,  and  poured  a  galling  fire  upon 
the  troops,  who,  after  being  twice  repulsed,  in  a  final  charge  succeeded  in  routing 
them.  The  regulars  lost  four  killed  and  twenty-five  wounded.  The  volunteers  had 
fifteen  wounded. 

It  is  difficult  to  depict  the  commotion  created  in  Florida  by  these  events.  The 
Indians  attacked  every  defenceless  house  and  plantation,  murders  and  conflagrations 
devastated  the  country,  and  the  accounts  of  the  atrocities  of  the  savages,  were  they 
collated,  would  fill  a  book.  "  The  newspapers,"  says  a  writer  from  St.  Mary's,  in 
Georgia,  under  date  of  January  16,  "  have,  perhaps,  abundantly  informed  you  to 
what  a  deplorable  situation  we  are  now  reduced.  The  temporizing  policy  of  General 
Thompson,  the  Indian  Superintendent,  and  the  forbearance  of  our  government,  have 
set  the  merciless  savages  upon  our  plantations,  our  crops,  and  our  dwellings,  and 
really  I  do  not  see  what  is  to  become  of  us  and  this  country  if  military  succors  do 
not  immediately  arrive.  The  Indians  seem  to  be  fully  bent  on  the  most  determined 
resistance,  and  in  the  action  on  the  Withlacoochee  displayed  a  firmness  and  despera 
tion  never  exceeded  in  the  history  of  Indian  warfare." 

A  simultaneous  outbreak  took  place  throughout  Florida.  On  the  28th  of  De 
cember,  the  day  of  Dade's  massacre,  a  party  of  ten  men  were  dining  with  Rodgers, 
the  sutler  at  Fort  King,  in  a  dwelling  distant  not  two  hundred  and  fifty  yards  from 
the  block-house,  when  they  were  suddenly  .beset  and  fired  on  by  a  party  of  Indians. 
A  hundred  shots,  it  is  estimated,  were  discharged  through  the  open  window,  by  which 
the  host,  who  was  sitting  at  the  head  of  his  table,  and  four  of  his  guests,  were  killed. 
Among  the  latter  were  General  Thompson,  the  Indian  Agent,  Lieutenant  Constantino 
Smith,  U.S.A.,  and  two  others.  Five  persons,  who  fled  to  the  fort,  escaped.  The 
officials  and  attendants  sought  refuge  in  a  hammock,  but  were  shot  down  before  they 
reached  it  The  cook,  a  negro  woman,  who  hid  herself  behind  a  barrel,  and  sue- 


390  MW  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

ceeded  in  effecting  her  escape,  witnessed  all  the  barbarities  committed.  Osceola,  who 
was  the  leader  of  the  party,  entered  first,  upset  a  table,  gazed  sternly  round  for  a 
moment,  and  then  went  out  The  body  of  Thompson,  the  agent,  was  found  to  have 
been  pierced  with  fifteen  bullets,  and  sixteen  entered  that  of  Rodgera.  The  Indians 
scalped  all  the  dead  to  the  very  ears,  and  then  beat  in  their  skulls. 

Between  the  day  of  the  massacre  and  the  middle  of  the  ensuing  January  a  wide 
extent  of  country  was  made  a  scene  of  desolation.  Houses  were  burned,  the  occu 
pants  killed,  cattle  and  stock  driven  off,  the  mail-routes  interrupted,  and  a  general 
panic  and  confusion  created. 

The  causes  which  originated  this  war  become  apparent  when  attention  is  directed 
to  the  peculiar  prejudices  and  mental  reservations  of  the  Indians.    By  the  treaty 
negotiated  at  Payne's  Landing,  on  the  Ocklawaha,  May  9, 1832,  the  Seminoles  ceded 
their  lands,  and  all  claims  to  lands  which  they  held  in  Florida,  in  consideration  of 
the  payment  to  them  of  a  yearly  annuity  of  $15,400.     They  also  agreed  to  send  a 
delegation  of  their  most  respected  chiefs  to  view  the  territory  offered  them  west  of 
the  Mississippi,  ani  to  ascertain  whether  the  Western  Creeks  would  allow  the  Semi 
noles  to  rejoin  them.     It  was  stipulated  in  the  treaty  that  the  improvements  left  in 
Florida  should  be  paid  for  by  the  United  States,  their  cattle  be  estimated  and  paid 
for,  and  the  blacksmiths'  services,  sanctioned  by  a  prior  treaty,  be  continued  to  them 
in  the  West.     Provision  was  made  that  each  person,  on  reaching  the  new  location, 
should  receive  a  blanket  and  a  home-spun  frock,  and  an  additional  annuity  of  $3000 
per  year  for  fifteen  years  was  to  be  divided  among  them.    Claims  having  been  made 
on  them  for  runaway  slaves  from  the  Southern  plantations,  $7000  were  allowed  for 
the  satisfaction  of  such  demands.   Under  the  seventh  article  of  this  treaty  they  agreed 
to  remove  within  three  years,  at  the  expense  of  the  United  States,  by  whom  they  were 
to  be  supplied  with  one  year's  subsistence  in  the  new  territory.     A  treaty  concluded 
with  the  Creeks  at  Fort  Gibson,  March  28,  1833,  provided  for  the  rebel  tribe  an 
ample  country.     The  Seminoles  living  north  of  the  boundary-line  designated  by  the 
treaty  of  Camp  Moultrie  began  to  remove  to  the  West,  but  these  removals  proceeded 
slowly,  being  delayed  by  embarrassments.     At  the  close  of  the  time  stipulated  by  the 
treaty  of  May  9,  1832,  it  having  been  decided  that  the  emigrants  should  proceed  by 
water  across  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  their  Western  home,  vessels  for  their  transporta 
tion  arrived  at  Tampa  Bay,  and  their  speedy  embarkation  was  urged.     Throughout 
the  year  1835  there  appeared  to  be  strong  objections  to  emigration  on  the  part  of 
all  the  principal  Seminole  bands,  and  they  finally  refused  to  go. 

In  a  full  report  made  to  Congress  by  the  War  Department,  February  9, 1836, 
this  general  dissatisfaction  with  the  treaty  of  Payne's  Landing  is  the  cause  assigned 
for  the  war.  In  its  prosecution  geographical  phenomena  singularly  favored  the 
cause  of  the  Seminoles,  and  it  may  be  figuratively  said  that  the  country  itself  fought 
for  them ;  every  swamp  and  hammock  was  a  fortress. 

Unquestionably  this  war  was  waged  on  the  part  of  the  United  States  government 
to  obtain  possession  of  the  lands  of  the  natives,  but  it  arose  primarily  from  a  desire 
to  reduce  to  slavery  the  warriors  of  Florida,  and  from  the  determination  of  South 


REMOVAL   OF  THE  TRIBES   WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI.  391 

Carolina  and  Georgia  not  to  permit  the  existence  so  near  their  borders  of  an  asylum 
for  fugitive  slaves. 

Nature  has  rendered  the  peninsula  of  Florida  peculiarly  attractive  to  the  Indians. 
Its  tangled  morasses,  its  dense  and  impenetrable  hammocks,  and  its  serpentine  streams 
form  so  many  natural  defences  against  European  enemies ;  and  spontaneous  means 
of  subsistence  are  abundant.  The  rivers  are  the  haunts  of  vast  numbers  of  water 
fowl,  the  adjoining  seas  abound  in  turtle,  and  the  soil  yields  a  profusion  of  vegetable 
nourishment  in  the  coontie-plant,  which  affords  a  kind  of  sago,  known  locally,  but 
incorrectly,  as  arrow-root  Cattle,  originally  introduced  by  the  Spaniards,  were 
found  to  reproduce  on  the  prairie  meadows  with  great  rapidity.  The  Florida  war 
was  a  contest  waged  against  geographical  and  climatic  laws.  To  elude  the  pursuit 
of  an  enemy  in  these  labyrinths  was  so  easy  a  matter  that  an  Indian  hidden  in  a 
hammock  could  not  be  discovered  at  the  distance  of  ten  feet. 

Successive  commanders,  Generals  Gaines,  Scott,  and  Call,  having  failed  to  pro 
duce  any  appreciable  result  in  Florida,  the  task  was  assigned  to  General  Jesup,  who 
began  a  vigorous  campaign  in  1837.  A  succession  of  defeats  soon  convinced  the 
Indians  that  they  could  not  longer  maintain  themselves  against  the  United  States 
forces,  and  by  the  23d  of  June  upwards  of  seven  hundred  of  them,  including 
Micanopy,  their  head  chief,  under  the  terms  of  capitulation  at  Fort  Dade,  March  6, 
1837,  came  in  prepared  to  emigrate,  and  had  camped  near  Tampa,  where  twenty-five 
transports  had  been  stationed  to  take  them  to  Arkansas.  Everything  was  in  readi 
ness,  when  suddenly  Osceola,  at  the  head  of  two  hundred  Mickosaukies,  appeared 
upon  the  scene,  and  either  forced  or  persuaded  the  entire  number  to  leave  the  camp 
and  take  refuge  in  the  everglades.  Various  causes  contributed  to  bring  about  this 
result.  Many  negroes  had  taken  refuge  with  the  Indians,  and  were  liable  to  be 
returned  to  their  owners,  contrary  to  the  terms  of  the  treaty,  if  the  emigration 
should  take  place.  The  younger  chiefs,  at  the  head  of  whom  was  Osceola,  were 
anxious  to  defeat  the  emigration  project,  and  the  latter  had  the  address  to  make  them 
credit  such  absurd  stories  as  that  once  embarked  their  throats  would  all  be  cut. 

Volunteers  from  the  neighboring  States  were  now  called  out,  and  active  hostili 
ties,  which  had  ceased  while  negotiations  were  going  on  at  Fort  Dade,  were  resumed. 
In  October  Osceola  and  Coe-Hajo,  who  had  come  to  Fort  Peyton  for  an  interview 
with  General  Hernandez,  were  seized  by  General  Jesup's  order,  upon  the  ground  of 
their  having  capitulated  at  Fort  Dade  in  March  previous,  and  imprisoned  at  Fort 
Augustine.  On  December  25,  Colonel  Zachary  Taylor,  afterwards  President  of  the 
United  States,  fought  the  severe"~battle  of  Okeechobee,  against  about  four  hundred 
Indians  under  Alligator,  Halleck-Tustenugge,  and  Coacooche,  whom  he  routed  and 
pursued.  His  loss  was  twenty-six  killed  and  one-4iundred  and  twelve  wounded. 
The  Indian  loss  was  comparatively  slight  Taylor  succeeded. Jesup  in  the  chief 
command  May  15,  1838,  and  after  two  years  of  harassing  service  was  succeeded  by 
Colonel  Armistead.  This  officer  was  in  turn  relieved,  in  May,  1841,  by  Colonel 
William  J.  Worth,  making  the  eighth  commander  sent  out  to  close  the  war. 

Undeniably  the  master-spirit  of  this  war  was  As-se-se-ho-lar,  or  Black  Drink, 


392  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

commonly  cailed  Osceola,  or  Powell.  He  was  a  half-breed,  and  when  a  child  had 
been  taken  by  his  mother,  who  was  of  the  Creek  tribe,  to  Florida,  and  lived  near  Fort 
King.  He  was  about  thirty-three  years  of  age  when  captured,  and  was  of  medium 
size  and  of  resolute  and  manly  bearing,  with  a  clear,  frank,  and  engaging  coun 
tenance.  By  his  firmness  and  audacity  he  forced  the  nation  into  a  war  which  a 
large  majority  were  averse  to,  and  either  broke  up  every  attempt  at  negotiation  or 
prevented  its  fulfilment  He  was  to  have  been  one  of  the  leaders  at  Dade's  mas 
sacre,  but  was  delayed  by  his  participation  in  the  affair  at  Fort  King,  previously 
narrated,  and  respecting  which  we  have  the  following  explanation : 

While  on  a  visit  to  Fort  King,  in  company  with  his  wife  and  a  few  friends,  for 
the  purpose  of  trading,  the  wife  of  Osceola,  in  the  presence  of  Agent  Thompson, 
was  seized  as  a  slave.  She  was  a  beautiful  woman,  the  daughter  of  a  chief,  but, 
having  negro  blood  in  her  veins,  the  law  pronounced  her  a  slave.  Osceola  became 
frantic  with  rage,  but  was  instantly  seized  and  placed  in  irons,  while  his  wife  was 
hurried  away  to  slave-holding  pollution.  He  remained  six  days  in  irons,  when, 
General  Thompson  says,  he  became  penitent,  and  was  released.  From  the  moment 
when  this  outrage  was  committed,  Osceola  swore  vengeance  upon  Thompson  and 
those  who  assisted  in  the  perpetration  of  this  crime,  and  the  Florida  war  commenced. 
He  or  some  of  his  friends  kept  constant  watch  on  Thompson's  movements,  and  soon 
found  an  opportunity  for  vengeance. 

He  was  in  the  battle  of  the  Withlacoochee,  and  led  the  attack  upon  Micanopy, 
where,  within  sight  of  the  fort,  he  attacked  in  an  open  field  upwards  of  one  hundred 
regulars  supported  by  a  field-piece.  His  capture  by  General  Jesup  while  under  the 
sanction  of  a  flag  of  truce  was  a  flagrant  violation  of  the  laws  and  usages  of  nations. 
Dignified  and  courteous  in  his  manners,  Osceola  showed  himself  a  brave  and  at  the 
same  time  cautious  leader  upon  the  field.  It  is  said  that  he  instructed  his  warriors 
in  their  predatory  incursions  to  spare  the  women  and  children.  Upon  his  removal 
to  Charleston  he  became  dejected,  pined  away,  and  in  a  few  weeks  died  of  a  broken 
heart  (January  30,  1838).  He  was  buried  just  outside  of  the  principal  gateway  of 
Fort  Moultrie,  where  a  monument  marks  the  resting-place  of  this  native  patriot  and 
hero.1 

Okeechobee  was  the  last  great  fight  in  which  the  Indians  were  engaged.  Their 
policy  now  was  to  avoid  giving  battle,  and,  moving  rapidly  by  night,  to  seize  every 
opportunity  to  wreak  their  vengeance  on  the  unarmed  inhabitants.  Murders  were 
committed  by  them  within  a  few  miles  of  Tallahassee  and  St.  Augustine.  This  state 
of  things  continued  with  brief  intervals  of  quietness  until  the  spring  of  1841,  when 
Worth  was  assigned  to  the  command.  No  officer  ever  entered  upon  a  more  unpromis 
ing  field  in  which  to  acquire  distinction.  All  the  best  officers  of  the  army,  many 
of  them  experienced  in  Indian  warfare,  had  failed  to  conquer  the  Indians,  who  were 
effectually  concealed  in  almost  inaccessible  everglades  and  swamps,  where  their 
families  and  crops  were  secure,  and  whence  they  could  sally  forth  upon  long  expedi- 

1  Fairbanka's  History  of  Florida,  p.  315. 


REMOVAL   OF  THE   TRIBES   WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSlPri.  393 

tions  for  murder  and  rapine.  Fully  comprehending  the  task  before  him,  the  new 
commander  at  once  organized  his  force  in  the  most  effective  manner,  establishing 
his  head-quarters  at  Fort  King.  Simultaneous  movements  against  the  Indians  took 
place  in  every  district,  breaking  up  their  camps  and  destroying  their  crops  and 
stores.  Every  swamp  and  hammock  between  the  Atlantic  and  Gulf  coasts  was 
visited,  and  the  band  of  Halleck-Tustenugge  was  routed  out  of  the  Wahoo  swamp. 
The  detachments  continued  scouting  the  country  twenty-five  days.  Six  hundred 
men  were  engaged,  about  one-fourth  of  whom  were  obliged  to  be  sent  to  the  hospi 
tals,  the  mercury  averaging  8G°.  The  capture  of  Coacoochee,  June  15,  was  so  well 
improved  by  Worth  that  during  the  month  of  August  his  entire  band,  two  hundred 
in  number,  at  that  chief's  persuasion,  came  in  and  surrendered.  In  October  a  com 
bined  land  and  naval  expedition  was  made  through  the  Everglades  and  the  Big 
Cypress  swamp,  the  Indian  stronghold,  where  Arpcika  and  the  Prophet  held  supreme 
command.  Their  huts  were  burned,  their  fields  devastated,  and  they  fled  in  every 
direction.  The  Indians  now  saw  that  no  hiding-place  was  secure,  and  that,  with  a 
vigilant  and  energetic  commander  like  Worth  to  deal  with,  they  had  no  further 
hope.  Parties  of  them  sued  for  peace,  came  in,  and  were  from  time  to  time  for 
warded  to  Arkansas. 

Early  in  1842,  General  Worth  made  a  final  effort  to  capture  Halleck-Tustenugge 
and  his  bund.  This  cunning  and  vindictive  chief  had  hitherto  baffled  every 
detachment  sent  after  him.  He  was  now  brought  to  bay  and  surrounded  in  the 
Pilakliknha  swamp,  and  here,  in  April,  1842,  the  last  important  action  of  the  war 
was  fought.  The  troops  charged  the  hammocks  with  great  gallantry,  and  received 
the  fire  of  the  Indians,  who  discharged  their  rifles  rapidly  but  soon  broke  into 
small  parties  and  escaped.  The  band  was  shortly  afterwards  captured  by  Colonel 
Garland  while  attending  a  feast,  and  a  little  later  its  chief  was  secured  by  General 
Worth.  This  was  one  of  the  most  important  steps  yet  taken  towards  bringing 
the  war  to  a  close.  The  surrender  of  Tustcnugge,  Octiarche,  and  Tiger-Tail  had 
removed  nearly  all  the  Indians  from  the  central  and  northern  parts  of  East 
Florida,  when  the  capture  of  Pascoffer,  with  his  entire  band,  on  the  Ocklockonnee, 
by  Colonel  Hitchcock,  entirely  relieved  Middle  and  Western  Florida.  No  other 
Indians  now  remained  in  the  State  except  those  under  Arpeika  (Sam  Jones),  an 
aged  sub-chief,  and  Bowlegs,  who  were  in  the  limits  assigned  them  south  of  Pea 
Creek ;  and  the  credit  of  finally  closing  this  terrible  war  was  justly  attributed  to  the 
rare  combination  of  qualifications  for  the  work  manifested  by  the  gallant  Worth. 
In  a  little  more  than  a  year,  and  with  great  economy  of  life  and  treasure,  he  had 
solved  a  problem  which  had  baffled  the  ablest  of  his  predecessors.  The  war  was 
closed  by  official  proclamation  August  14,  1842,  haying  lasted  nearly  seven  years, 
at  a  cost  of  upwards  of  nineteen  million  dollars.  Of  regular  troops,  including  two 
hundred  and  fifteen  officers,  fourteen  hundred  and  sixty-six  had  died  during  the 
contest.  A  few  Indians  still  remain  in  the  southerly  portion  of  the  State,  supporting 
themselves  by  hunting  and  fishing. 

11—60 


CHAPTER    VIL 

REMOVAL    OP    THE    CHEROKEES-OPPOSED    BY    THE    ROSS     PARTY— EFFECTED. 

PEACEABLY  BY  GENERAL  SCOTT. 

Two  obstacles  to  the  successful  execution  of  the  plan  of  removal  had  existed  for . 
several  years,  one  of  which  was  the  difficulties  between  Georgia  and  the  Creeks. 
The  treaty  concluded  with  the  Creeks  at  Indian  Springs  on  February  12, 1825,  had 
been  the  source  of  much  discord,  having  been  negotiated  without  the  full  consent  of 
all  the  chiefs  who  should  have  participated  in  it,  and  ratified  only  a  few  days  prior 
to  the  close  of  the  Presidential  term,  before  the  objections  to  it  were  made  known  or 
fully  understood.  Mr.  Adams,  in  his  first  message,  expresses  his  intention  to  com 
municate  to  Congress  a  special  message  on  the  subject,  and  also  respecting  the  general 
feeling  of  the  Cherokees.  Causes  of  dissension  had  been  created  with  two  of  the 
principal  tribes  such  as  had  not  before  occurred  in  our  Indian  history.  After  the 
lapse  of  seven  years  the  Creek  question  was  virtually  adjusted  by  the  treaty  signed 
at  Washington  on  March  24, 1832,  but  the  difficulties  were  not  terminated.  By  this 
treaty  they  ceded  all  their  lands  east  of  the  Mississippi,  making  personal  reservations 
for  a  limited  number  of  years ;  but  the  Indians  were  not  disposed  to  comply  with  its 
terms. 

The  Cherokee  nation  had  been  divided  in  opinion  on  the  subject  of  emigration 
since  the  year  1817,  at  which  period  the  Western  Cherokees  removed  to  the  West 
The  treaty  of  New  Echota,  concluded  December  29,  1835,  together  with  the  policy 
of  emigration,  had  created  two  distinct  and  violently  antagonistic  parties,  one  of 
which  favored  the  removal,  and  the  other  opposed  it.  The  leader  of  the  latter  was 
John  Ross,  the  ruling  chief,  who  was  supported  by  many  other  chiefs,  and  by  the 
majority  of  the  tribe.  Being  attached  to  their  residence  by  historical  associations 
dating  back  to  the  era  of  the  discovery  of  the  country,  possessing  a  fertile  soil,  and 
enjoying  a  mild  climate,  amid  a  district  of  hill  and  dale  whose  scenic  beauty  is  rarely 
surpassed,  this  party,  having  in  their  own  hands  the  means  of  civilization,  were 
averse  to  exchanging  it  for  territories  beyond  the  Mississippi  with  the  character  of 
which  they  were  imperfectly  acquainted  and  regarding  the  climate  of  which  they  were 
in  doubt.  Congress  had,  by  a  resolution  passed  in  March,  1835,  offered  $5,000,000 
to  the  Cherokees  for  their  lands.  December  29,  1835,  a  treaty  assenting  to  the 
government  policy  was  formed  at  New  Echota  with  the  party  favoring  exchange 
and  migration,  at  the  head  of  which  was  Major  Ridge.  This  treaty  threw  the 
nation  into  a  tumult  of  excitement,  and  a  numerous  delegation  visited  Washington 
to  oppose  its  ratification  by  the  Senate.  While  the  terms  of  the  treaty  were  under 
discussion  at  Washington,  Congress  granted  $600,000  for  the  purpose  of  covering 
394 


REMOVAL   OF  THE   TRIBES   WEST  OF   TUB  MISSISSIPPI.  395 

the  incidental  expenses  of  their  removal,  and  to  meet  sundry  contingent  claims  which 
it  was  apprehended  might  arise  therefrom.  The  Western  Cherokees  also  appended 
their  approval  of  the  measure,  without  claiming  any  interest  in  the  fiscal  provisions 
of  the  compact.  In  this  form  the  treaty  was  ratified  by  the  Senate  on  May  23, 1836. 

The  malcontent  party  of  the  Cherokees  denied  the  validity  of  the  treaty,  averring 
that  the  majority  of  the  nation  should  not  be  bound  by  the  terms  of  a  treaty  to  which 
they  had  not  given  their  consent,  and  which  they  alleged  had  been  surreptitiously 
negotiated.  The  minds  of  the  people  were  intensely  excited,  one  party  contending 
that  the  removal  policy  would  be  their  destruction,  and  the  other  that  it  would  prove 
their  salvation.  The  public  press  of  the  United  States  took  part  in  the  discussion, 
being  governed  in  the  expression  of  their  opinions  by  their  adhesion  to  existing 
parties,  and  by  the  different  views  they  entertained  of  the  true  policy  to  be  pursued 
with  respect  to  the  future  disposition  of  the  Indian  tribes. 

It  appears  that  Mr.  Ross  and  his  coadjutors  had  made  an  agreement  with  a 
functionary  of  the  government,  long  prior  to  the  treaty  of  1824,  to  accept  for  the 
Cherokee  lands  and  claims  situate  east  of  the  Mississippi  whatever  sum  the  Senate 
might  award,  on  the  submission  of  the  question  to  that  body.  The  Senate,  to  whom 
the  question  was  eventually  submitted,  awarded  $5,000,000,  and  on  this  basis  the  treaty 
of  New  Echota  was  negotiated,  but  not  with  Mr.  Ross  and  his  colleagues.  During 
the  pendency  of  the  negotiations  certain  influences  were  brought  to  bear  upon  Mr. 
Ross,  and  he  became  apprised  of  the  fact  that  there  was  a  large  body  of  the  people 
of  the  United  States  who  not  only  concurred  with  the  malcontent  party  of  the  Cher 
okees  in  their  ideas  of  aboriginal  sovereignty  within  the  limits  of  the  United  States, 
but  approved  of  their  reluctance  and  refusal  to  exchange  their  lands,  and  deemed 
the  compensation  awarded  by  the  Senate  inadequate.  Individuals  of  high  moral  and 
legal  standing  in  the  North  promulgated  these  views,  in  which  they  were  supported 
by  a  part  of  the  newspaper  press  of  the  Northern  and  Middle  States.  It  was  affirmed 
that  an  agent  of  the  party  in  the  North  opposed  to  the  policy  of  the  administration 
visited  the  Cherokees,  held  interviews  with  the  malcontent  chiefs,  and  encouraged 
them  in  their  resistance  to  the  government.  The  opposition  to  the  execution  of  the 
treaty  of  New  Echota  thus  assumed  the  character  of  resistance  to  the  legal  officers 
of  the  government  who  were  charged  with  the  duty  of  removing  the  tribe.  When, 
therefore,  Commissioners  Carrol  and  Schermerhorn  visited  the  Cherokee  country, 
and  offered  to  conclude  a  treaty  on  the  five-million  basis,  the  Ross  party  declined  to 
negotiate.  The  authority  of  these  commissioners  was  at  one  time  questioned  and 
denied,  and  at  another  time  their  character  was  unjustly  assailed.  Finally,  the  Ridge 
party,  who  regarded  the  compensation  offered  as  amply  sufficient,  and  believed  the 
removal  policy  to  be  one  suited  to  advance  their  permanent  prosperity,  concluded  the 
treaty,  and  thus  the  Cherokees  became  divided  into  Rossites  and  Ridgeites,  a  division 
which  produced  a  state  of  discord  eventually  terminating  in  the  shedding  of  blood. 

It  has  been  already  stated  that  a  delegation  proceeded  to  Washington  to  oppose 
the  ratification  of  the  treaty,  that  the  treaty  lay  before  the  Senate  from  December 
until  May,  that  an  increase  of  $600,000  was  granted  to  cover  expenses,  and  that  the 


39G  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

fall  assent  of  the  Western  Cherokees  was  obtained,  who  were  anxious  to  facilitate  the 
measure  and  to  welcome  their  brethren  to  the  West  During  the  attendance  of  this 
delegation  of  the  Rossites  at  Washington,  they  evinced  the  morbidly  suspicious 
character  of  the  red  man,  who  doubts  when  he  should  decide,  and  hesitates  when  he 
ought  to  act  It  is  stated  that  when  it  was  intimated  to  the  Rossites  by  a  Senator  in 
the  confidence  of  the  administration  that  a  new  treaty  might  be  entered  into  with 
Mr.  Ross  and  his  party  if  he  should  propose  it,  true  to  their  native  instincts,  the 
Cherokees  assumed  the  position  that  such  a  measure  if  contemplated  should  be 
officially  and  pro  forma  communicated.  The  influence  of  the  delegation  at  Wash 
ington  may  be  deemed  to  have  procured  the  appropriation  of  the  sum  to  defray  the 
expenses  of  their  emigration,  but  Congress  deemed  the  $5,000,000  an  adequate 
allowance  for  the  territory  relinquished.  When  it  is  considered  that  in  addition  to 
this  sum  the  nation  was  gratuitously  furnished  with  an  ample  domain  in  the  West 
of  a  fertile  character,  and  abounding  in  all  the  requisites  for  an  agricultural  colony, 
the  compensation  awarded  by  this  body  cannot  but  be  considered  as  not  only  liberal, 
but  munificent. 

The  ordinary  method  of  negotiation  through  agents,  commissioners,  and  governors 
having  been  resorted  to  without  any  beneficial  result,  troops  were  ordered  into  the 
field,  under  commanders  of  acknowledged  repute.  There  was  no  occasion  for  a  war 
of  extermination.  Generals  Gaines,  Jesup,  Scott,  Taylor,  and  others,  to  whom  the 
conduct  of  the  war  was  intrusted,  kept  the  Indians  in  check,  and  evinced  their 
abilities  by  their  conciliatory  yet  firm  mode  of  operation. 

Every  year's  delay  in  the  removal  of  the  Cherokees  and  other  malcontent  tribes 
only  increased  the  difficulties  interposed,  and  allowed  the  opponents  of  the  measure 
time  to  originate  new  causes  for  procrastination. 

To  overawe,  the  malcontents  and  give  support  to  the  government  authorities,  four 
thousand  men,  nearly  the  entire  disposable  force  of  the  army  at  that  time,  were  kept 
in  the  field.  Not  only  was  the  war  with  the  Seminoles  of  Florida  protracted  in  an 
extraordinary  manner,  but  the  difficulties  with  the  Cherokees  arising  out  of  the  treaty 
of  New  Echota  at  this  time  reached  their  culminating  point.  The  Rossites  refused 
to  remove  under  the  provisions  of  that  treaty,  and  this  party,  being  a  majority  of  the 
nation,  assumed  a  position  of  defiance  to  the  government.  The  Senate  had  originally 
assessed  the  value  of  their  lands  at  $5,000,000,  and  after  great  deliberation,  and  the 
allowance  of  $600,000  more  to  cover  claims  for  improvements  and  for  expenses 
of  removal,  ratified  the  instrument.  It  then  became  the  imperative  duty  of  the 
Executive  to  see  that  these  treaty  engagements  were  complied  with,  and  not  suffer 
them  to  be  overslaughed  by  a  system  of  factious  delays  and  wily  subterfuges.  No 
attempt  was  made  to  show  that  the  compensation  was  not  adequate  or  liberal.  A 
territory  of  greater  extent  and  equal  fertility,  situated  in  a  fine  climate,  and  abound 
ing  in  all  necessary  facilities  for  an  affluent  agricultural  community,  was  granted  to 
them,  in  addition  to  the  award  of  $5,600,000.  This  new  territory  West  being  under 
no  State  or  Territorial  jurisdiction,  their  own  institutions  and  laws  could  be  estab 
lished  and  enforced,  and  the  Indian  mind  and  character  have  ample  scope  for  (level- 


REMOVAL   OF  TUB   TRIBES   WEST  OF  TUB  MISSISSIPPI.  397 

opnient.  No  new  system  of  policy  was  introduced  by  government ;  it  was  merely 
desired  to  enforce  the  old.  The  course  of  the  preceding  administration  had  been 
marked  by  foresight,  comprehension,  decision,  and  a  regard  for  the  advancement  and 
permanent  prosperity  of  the  Cherokee  nation.  The  people  of  Tennessee,  Alabama, 
and  Mississippi  having  earnestly  demanded  the  removal  of  the  Cherokees,  General 
Scott  was  ordered  to  the  Cherokee  country  to  enforce  the  treaty  stipulations  and 
preserve  order  during  their  transportation, — a  delicate  and  difficult  duty,  which  the 
excellent  judgment  of  that  officer  enabled  him  to  perform  with  decided  success. 

By  the  treaty  ratified  May  23,  183G,  the  Cherokees  had  stipulated  to  remove 
within  two  years.  Early  in  the  year  1837,  several  parties  of  the  Ridgeites  had  suc 
cessfully  emigrated  to  their  new  location,  and  had  been  received  in  the  most  friendly 
spirit  by  the  Western  Cherokees.  These  parties  in  the  aggregate  were  estimated  to 
number  six  thousand,  but  the  mass  of  the  nation  still  remained.  After  the  arrival 
of  General  Scott,  and  the  disposition  of  his  forces  at  suitable  points  of  observation, 
it  was  no  longer  doubted  that  the  day  for  decision  had  arrived. 

On  the  23d  of  July,  in  a  general  council  of  the  nation,  it  was  resolved  to  propose 
to  the  commanding  general  that  they  be  allowed  to  conduct  their  own  migration,  and 
delegates  were  appointed  to  communicate  this  request.  To  this  the  general  replied 
approvingly,  if  certain  conditions  necessary  to  insure  it  were  agreed  to,  the  migration 
to  begin  on  the  1st  of  September,  and  the  parties  to  succeed  one  another  at  intervals 
not  exceeding  three  days.  These  terms  being  assented  to,  and  the  stipulation  being 
repeated  that  the  migration  must  commence  on  the  1st  of  September  and  be  termi 
nated  by  the  20th  of  October,  reservations  being  made  for  the  sick  and  superannuated, 
General  Scott  demanded  estimates  of  the  expenses  attending  these  removals.  The 
Clierokees  furnished  details,  estimating  the  removal  of  each  thousand  persons  at 
$65,880,  and  proposed  that  the  Indians  employ  physicians.  To  this  he  assented, 
although  he  criticised  gome  of  the  items,  adding  that  the  entire  expense  of  their 
migration  would  be  paid  out  of  an  appropriation  of  Congress,  the  surplus  of  which 
was  directed  to  be  paid  over  to  the  Cherokees,  thus  furnishing  them  an  incentive  for 
their  economical  expenditure  of  the  sum. 

This  arrangement  being  entered  into,  the  removal  was  made  under  the  personal 
superintendence  of  Mr.  Ross.  On  reaching  the  Mississippi,  the  parties  ascended  it 
to  the  junction  of  the  Arkansas,  and,  following  the  latter,  in  due  time  arrived  at 
their  new  homes  in  the  Indian  Territory.  No  disturbance  occurred  at  any  point  on 
the  route,  and  they  conducted  this  exodus  of  the  tribe  with  order  and  propriety.  In 
this  manner  twelve  thousand  Cherokees  were  removed,  which,  added  to  the  six  thou 
sand  who  had  migrated  during  the  previous  year,  coincides  with  the  former  estimate 
of  their  population  at  eighteen  thousand. 

Thus  was  a  measure  finally  accomplished  which  had  kept  the  country  in  turmoil 
for  several  years  and  threatened  serious  results.  The  conduct  of  General  Scott  was 
entitled  to  commendation,  but  the  initiative  of  this  final  movement  was  due  to  a 
higher  quarter.  A  delegation  of  the  Cherokees  visited  Washington  in  the  month  of 
May,  and  called  on  the  Secretary  of  War.  Mr.  Poinsett  told  them  thai  the  most 


398  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

strenuous  efforts  of  the  administration  would  be  exerted  to  prevail  on  the  Southern 
States  interested  in  their  removal  to  refrain  from  pressing  them  inconveniently  and 
from  interfering  with  their  migration ;  that  this  migration  should,  if  they  desired, 
be  conducted  by  their  own  agents ;  that  he  thought  the  entire  expenses  of  it  should 
be  borne  by  the  United  States,  and  that  a  military  escort  should  be  provided  for 
them  while  on  the  route.  Mr.  Van  Buren  sanctioned  these  terms,  and  received  the 
delegation  with  great  courtesy.  He  recommended  to  Congress  that  an  adequate 
provision  should  be  made  to  meet  the  expenses  of  their  removal  in  such  a  spirit  of 
liberality  and  good  will  as  should  justly  mark  all  the  national  dealings  with  that 
people.  The  result  was  an  appropriation  of  $1,147,067.  This  was  the  foundation 
of  success.  General  Scott,  therefore,  did  not  go  to  the  Cherokee  country  with  his 
hands  tied,  but  was  enabled  to  dispense  the  liberality  of  the  government  in  a  manner' 
at  once  just  and  munificent  The  Rossites  were  conciliated,  and  they  emigrated  to 
the  West  completely  pacified,  and  entertaining  friendly  feelings  towards  the  United 
States. 

The  removal  of  the  Cherokees  and  of  the  Creeks  was  an  act  done  in  violation  of 
treaties  made  by  the  United  States  government,  and  in  opposition  to  the  wishes  of 
the  Indians.  The  State  of  Georgia  determined  upon  the  deed,  defied  the  govern 
ment,  and  forced  it  to  adopt  and  carry  out  its  policy. 


" 


CHAPTER   VIII. 

EMIGRATION  OF  THE  TRIBES,  CONTINUED— THEIR  CONDITION— RAVAGES  OF  THE 
SMALLPOX— DISCORDS  BETWEEN  THE  EASTERlT~AND  WESTERN  CHEROKEE3 
— BOUDINOT  AND  THE  RIDGES  ASSASSINATED— CLOSE  OF  THE  FIRST  DECADE 
OF  COLONIZATION. 

THE  removal  of  the  friendly  portion  of  the  Seminoles  was  intrusted  to  General 
Jesup  about  the  middle  of  February,  1836.  The  friendly  portions  of  the  tribe 
separated  themselves  from  the  hostile,  to  the  number  of  four  hundred  and  fifty,  and 
fled  for  protection  to  the  military  post  at  Tampa  Bay.  On  the  10th  of  April,  four 
hundred  and  seven  persons  were  enrolled  and  mustered  preparatory  to  embarking  on 
the  transports  which  were  to  convey  them  to  the  West.  Of  this  number,  three 
hundred  and  eight  arrived  at  Little  Rock,  Arkansas,  on  the  5th  of  May. 

After  the  commission  of  hostile  acts  by  the  Creeks,  their  removal  was  also  in 
trusted  to  the  efficient  management  of  General  Jesup.  Under  contracts  which 
secured  them  every  comfort  and  the  attention  of  careful  emigrant  agents,  they  were 
located  at  different  points  in  the  Indian  colony  in  bands  of  twenty-three  hundred, 
of  one  hundred  and  sixty-five,  and  of  thirteen  hundred,  leaving  behind  seven  hun 
dred  warriors  to  operate  against  the  Seminoles. 

The  removal  of  the  Creeks  was  commenced  through  the  influence  of  the  chief, 
Holy  Mclntosh,  under  the  provisions  of  the  original  Mclntosh  treaty,  concluded 
February  12,  1825,  as  modified  by  the  treaty  signed  at  Washington  January  24, 
1826,  and  finally  determined  by  the  treaty  entered  into  at  Washington  March  24, 
1832.  During  the.  year  the  respective  emigrant  parties  arrived  in  the  Territory  and 
were  satisfactorily  located  on  their  lands.  The  agent  remarks,  "  They  have  a  rich 
country,  and  those  that  emigrated  with  Mclntosh  have  been  engaged  busily  in 
making  corn ;  they  usually  have  a  large  surplus,  as  high  some  years  as  thirty  thou 
sand  bushels,  besides  stock  of  every  description.  As  there  is  now  a  large  emigration 
coming  into  the  country,  they  will  find  a  sale  for  all  they  have  to  sell." 

The  number  of  the  Choctaws  was  then  estimated  at  eighteen  thousand  in  all,  a 
large  proportion  of  whom  were  in  the  Territory,  or  in  the  process  of  removal  to  the 
fine  tract  of  country  they  had  acquired  in  it  Immediately  on  their  arrival  they 
turned  their  attention  to  labor,  in  which  they  evinced  striking  proficiency.  They 
adopted  a  form  of  government  which  was  administered  by  an  elective  council  and 
presiding  magistrates,  and  had  a  written  code  of  laws.  They  introduced  the  culture 
of  cotton,  erected  cotton-gins,  planted  large  fields  of  corn,  raised  horses,  hogs,  and 
cattle,  which  were  pastured  on  the  prairies,  erected  smiths'  shops,  and  pursued  various 

399 


400  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

mechanical  trades.  They  conducted  their  own  mercantile  operations,  importing 
large  stocks  of  goods,  for  which  they  exchanged  their  products. 

In  1835  a  census  of  the  Cherokees,  east  of  the  Mississippi,  placed  their  number 
at  eighteen  thousand.  The  Western  Cherokees  had  segregated  themselves  from  the 
nation  under  the  provisions  of  the  treaties  of  July  8,  1817,  and  February  27, 1819, 
after  which  time  they  had  emigrated  to  the  West  in  parties  under  their  own  organi 
zation,  and  settled  on  the  lands  which  were  assigned  to  them.  At  the  era  when  the 
census  was  taken,  these  Western  Cherokees  constituted,  to  a  great  extent,  a  separate 
nationality.  The  government  agent  in  his  report  represents  them  as  gradually  pro 
gressing  in  civilization  and  the  cultivation  of  the  soil,  and  depicts  their  society  as 
containing  many  intelligent  men.  He  remarks  that  they  raised  corn,  beef,  pork, 
sheep,  etc.,  to  a  considerable  extent,  and  that  in  travelling  through  their  country 
one  might  be  quite  comfortably  entertained.  Many  of  them  engaged  in  trade  with 
their  own  people.  They  had  some  mills  erected,  and,  with  a  wide  extent  of  country, 
a  portion  of  it  finely  watered,  they  bade  fair,  with  frugality  and  temperance,  to  become 
a  leading  tribe.  In  this  report  the  Choctaws,  Creeks,  and  Cherokees  are  stated  to 
have  collectively  seventeen  churches  within  their  territorial  limits, — viz.,  ten  in  the 
Choctaw,  four  in  the  Cherokee,  and  three  in  the  Creek  country. 

Regarding  the  other  and  for  the  most  part  minor  tribes,  the  report  gives  data  of 
which  the  following  is  a  synopsis.  The  Seminoles,  who  had  recently  arrived,  were 
reported  to  be  in  possession  of  one  of  the  finest  sections  of  the  Indian  country,  and, 
with  their  local  advantages,  could  soon  prosper.  The  Osages,  an  indigenous  people, 
were  still  addicted  to  the  chase,  raised  no  corn  except  what  their  women  cultivated, 
hunted  the  buffalo,  and  stored  the  jerked  meat  for  winter  use.  They  are  stated  to 
have  little  or  no  stock,  all  their  extra  means  of  support  being  derived  from  their 
annuities.  The  Quapaws,  advantageously  located  on  the  banks  of  the  Neosho,  were 
in  possession  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  sections  in  one  place,  surveyed  and  marked 
off,  adjacent  to  the  Cherokees  and  Osages.  The  Senecas,  and  the  mixed  band  of 
Seuecas  and  Shawnees,  had  60,000  acres.  The  Senecas  of  SandusKy  had  67,000 
acres.  These  lands  adjoined,  and  were  fertile  and  well  watered.  The  Senecas  cul 
tivated  the  soil,  and  had  a  mill  in  operation,  which  was  of  great  service  to  them. 

Nine  tribes  were  located  north  of  the  district  just  mentioned.  They  were  the 
relics  of  the  Shawnees,  Delawares,  Kickapoos,  Kansas,  Weas,  Piankeshaws,  Peorias, 
Kaskaskias,  and  Ottawas.  These  nine  tribes  had  then  an  aggregate  population  of 
four  thousand  four  hundred  and  sixty-seven  souls.  The  Shawnees  and  Delawares, 
who  are  agriculturists,  were  industrious,  temperate,  and  thrifty,  possessed  a  fertile 
country,  and  were  supplied  with  schools,  shops,  mills,  and  churches.  They  now  suc 
cessfully  cultivate  the  various  cereals,  and  raise  large  stocks  of  horses,  cattle,  and 
hogs.  The  Kickapoos  began  to  turn  their  attention  to  agriculture  in  1835,  and  both 
men  and  women  labor  assiduously.  The  Kansas,  like  the  Osages,  are  indigenous, 
and  live  by  the  chase.  The  small  bands  of  the  Weas,  Piankeshaws,  Peorias,  and 
Ottawas  are  cultivators  of  the  soil.  The  manners,  habits,  dress,  and  deportment  of 
all  the  agricultural  tribes  and  bands  denote  a  decided  advance  towards  civilization. 


REMOVAL   OF  THE   TRIBES   WEST  OF   TUB  MISSISSIPPI.  401 

The  general  result  of  the  negotiations  with  the  Indians  during  eight  years  prior 
to  January  1,  1837,  was  the  cession  of  93,401,637  acres  by  the  tribes,  for  which  the 
sum  of  $20,982,068  was  paid,  together  with  the  grant  to  them  of  32,381,000  acres 
west  of  the  Mississippi,  valued  at  $40,476,250,  the  total  compensation  amounting  thus 
to  $67,458,318. 

In  1837  the  tribes  and  remnants  of  tribes  still  residing  east  of  the  Mississippi 
were  greatly  disturbed  by  the  discussion  of  the  question  of  their  removal,  and  the 
hope  of  improving  their  social  condition  by  the  acceptance  of  lands  in  the  West 
induced  them  to  make  frequent  treaties.  A  retrospect  of  the  succession  of  these  is 
essential  to  the  proper  understanding  of  their  history. 

The  important  treaty  of  cession  made  at  Washington  March  28,  1836,  by  the 
Ottawas  and  Chippewas,  and  the  beneficial  effects  of  it  on  the  affairs  of  those  tribes, 
caused  their  more  westerly  brethren  and  kinsfolk,  on  the  Upper  Mississippi,  to 
meditate  seriously  on  pursuing  the  same  course.  The  Ojibwas1  comprised  an  infinity 
of  bands,  scattered  over  an  immense  surface  of  territory.  A  treaty  with  the  Western 
and  Northern  bands  of  these  people  was  concluded  by  General  Henry  Dodge  at  St. 
Peter's  on  July  29, 1837.  By  this  treaty,  in  which  the  Pillager  tribe  of  Leech  Lake 
is  first  introduced  to  notice,  the  Chippewa  nation  ceded  the  country  from  a  point 
opposite  the  junction  of  the  Crow  Wing  River  with  the  Mississippi,  to  the  head  of 
Lake  St.  Croix,  and  thence  along  the  ridge  dividing  the  Ochasawa  River  from  a 
northern  tributary  of  Chippewa  River,  to  a  point  on  the  latter  twenty  miles  below 
the  outlet  of  Lake  Flambeau.  From  this  point  the  cession  absorbed  the  whole 
Chippewa  boundary  to  the  lines  of  the  Menomonies,  on  the  Wisconsin  and  Sioux 
Rivers. 

This  important  compact  ceded  a  large  part  of  the  present  area  of  Southern  Min 
nesota,  with  its  valuable  pineries,  fertile  prairies,  beautiful  lakes,  and  flowing  rivers. 
By  this  cession  the  tribes  secured  an  annuity  of  $38,000  for  twenty  years,  payable  in 
money,  goods,  and  provisions,  besides  obtaining  the  services  of  mechanics  and  farmers 
and  a  supply  of  agricultural  implements.  The  sum  of  $70,000  was  appropriated  to 
the  payment  of  their  debts,  and  $100,000  to  be  divided  among  their  half-breed 
descendants. 

This  treaty  collected  into  one  group  families  and  bands  of  the  same  stock  who 
had  wandered  over  hundreds  and  thousands  of  miles  of  country,  comprising  the  far- 
reaching  shores  of  Lake  Superior  and  the  almost  illimitable  steppes  of  the  Upper 
Mississippi. 

The  Chippewas  of  Saginaw,  in  Michigan,  by  a  treaty  concluded  December  20, 
1837,  ceded  their  lands  in  the  region  of  the  Flint,  Shiawassee,  Tittabawassee,  and 
Saginaw  Rivers.  By  this  treaty  the  United  States  granted  them  the  entire  pro 
ceeds  of  the  sales  of  their  lands  in  the  public  land-office,  together  with  an  amount 

1  This  term  baa  been  Anglicised  by  tbe  term  Chippewa ;  Ojibwi  or  Otebipwe  more  nearly  expresses  the 
native  pronunciation  obtaining  in  tbe  moat  remote  bands.  Tbe  original  term,  it  is  s»id,  refers  to  the  power  of 

Tirility. 

11—51 


402  TOE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

of  fertile  lands  in  the  West  equal  to  those  ceded,  and  an  annual  appropriation  for 
schools  and  agricultural  purposes  while  resident  during  a  limited  period  in  the 
country.  The  Saginaws  had  previously  been  regarded  as  refugees  from  various 
bands  of  the  Algonkin  stock.  Their  central  location  had  been  occupied  in  former 
times  by  the  warlike  tribe  of  the  Sacs  or  Sauks ;  hence  the  term  Sauk-i-nong,  from 
which  originated  the  name  Saginaw.  About  the  year  1712  the  Sacs  united  with  the 
Foxes  and  made  an  attack  on  the  French  at  Detroit  The  failure  of  the  attempt  of 
these  two  restless  and  warlike  tribes  drove  them  at  first  to  the  banks  of  the  stream 
since  known  as  the  Fox  River  of  Wisconsin,  whence  they  afterwards  migrated  to  the 
west  of  the  Mississippi. 

On  the  17th  of  January,  1837,  the  Chickasaws  and  Choctaws  entered  into  a 
treaty,  under  the  auspices  of  the  United  States,  which  provided  that  the  Chickasaws 
should  be  located  in  a  separate  district  of  the  Choctaw  territory,  west  of  the  Missis 
sippi,  and  should  enjoy  equal  political  rights  and  privileges  with  them,  except  only 
in  questions  relative  to  their  fiscal  affairs.  In  consideration  of  this  location,  and  of 
the  rights  and  privileges  granted  them,  the  Chickasaws  agreed  to  pay  the  Choctaws 
$530,000 ;  $30,000  of  this  sum  to  be  paid  down,  and  the  remainder  to  be  invested 
by  the  United  States  in  stocks  for  their  benefit,  under  prescribed  regulations.  This 
initial  step  towards  the  reunion  of  tribes  speaking  dialects  of  the  same  language  is 
important  as  foreshadowing  a  further  and  final  tribal  reunion. 

The  tendency  of  affiliated  tribes  to  coalesce  after  long  periods  of  separation,  weary 
wanderings,  and  disastrous  adventures,  was  first  demonstrated  in  the  history  of  the 
Iroquois,  who,  we  are  informed,  in  ancient  times  warred  furiously  against  each  other. 
By  the  confederation,  in  the  fifteenth  century,  of  the  Mohawks,  Oneidas,  Onondagas, 
Cayugas,  and  Senecas,  a  native  power  was  created  which  made  itself  feared  and 
respected  by  the  other  tribes ;  and  at  the  period  when  the  colonies  were  sent  West 
they  held  a  position  among  the  other  savage  tribes  which  fully  verified  the  axiom 
that  in  union  there  is  strength.  Nothing  analogous  to  this  organization  existed 
among  the  Algonkins,  such  as  the  New  England  tribes  and  the  Illinois.  These  had 
no  public  council  or  general  convocation  of  tribes  where  important  questions  relative 
to  their  political  affairs  were  discussed.  The  Dakota  tribe  is  also  composed  of  dis 
cordant  materials,  there  being  no  controlling  organization  for  the  public  welfare,  each 
band  being  the  sole  judge  of  what  it  considers  right  and  politic. 

The  Sacs  and  Foxes  coalesced  on  a  firmer  basis,  the  tribes  being  so  closely  united 
by  the  ties  of  language,  intermarriage,  customs,  and  by  local  influences,  that  they 
have  preserved  the  co-tribal  relation. 

Very  similar,  and  weakened  only  by  their  dispersion  over  the  wide  country  they 
occupy,  is  the  coalescence,  or  social  league,  existing  between  the  Chippewas,  Ottawas, 
and  Pottawatomies. 

The  year  1837  was  marked  by  the  migration  of  separate  colonies  from  the 
Ridgeite  Cherokees,  the  Creeks  of  Georgia,  and  the  Choctaws  and  Chickasaws  in  the 
South.  From  the  Northern  section  of  the  Union,  emigrant  parties  of  the  Pottawato 
mies  and  Ottawas  departed  for  the  West.  There  were  still  remaining  in  this  region 


REMOVAL   OF  THE   TRIBES   WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI.  403 

the  Wyaudots,  of  Ohio,  the  Menomonies,  Stockbridges,  Munsees,  and  Oneidas,  of 
Wisconsin,  the  Iroquois,  of  New  York,  the  Miamis,  of  Indiana,  and  the  Chippewas, 
of  Lake  Superior. 

By  the  terms  of  the  treaty  negotiated  by  General  Scott,  September  15,  1832, 
immediately  succeeding  the  close  of  the  Sac  war,  the  Winnebagoes  ceded  their  lands 
lying  east  of  the  Mississippi,  in  the  State  of  Wisconsin,  and  accepted  a  location  west 
of  that  river,  on  a  tract  designated  in  the  treaty  as  "  the  Neutral  Ground  ;"  a  fine 
district  of  country,  abounding  in  game,  and  possessing  a  very  fertile  soil,  situated 
between  the  territory  of  the  Sioux  and  that  of  the  Sacs  and  Foxes.  As  Wisconsin 
filled  up  with  a  white  population,  and  the  position  of  the  Winnebagoes  as  a  hunter 
tribe  became  more  and  more  inconvenient,  they  were  urged  by  the  local  authorities 
to  remove  to  the  Neutral  Ground,  which  they  hesitated  to  do  from  a  dread  of  being 
embroiled  in  the  fierce  and  sanguinary  wars  constantly  raging  between  the  Sacs  and 
Foxes  and  the  Sioux.  Strenuous  exertions  were  made  by  the  government  to  quell 
these  hostilities,  and  the  removal  of  the  Winnebagoes  was  finally  effected  during  the 
year  1837.  A  treaty  was  concluded  with  the  Saginaw  Chippewas,  of  Michigan,  on 
the  20th  of  December  of  this  year,  by  which  the  tribe  ceded  their  reservations  in 
that  State,  and  agreed,  after  a  residence  of  five  years  on  a  tract  designated,  to  remove 
to  the  west  of  the  Mississippi. 

In  1834  the  Miamis  had  ceded  their  lands  on  the  Wabash  for  a  heavy  consider 
ation,  and  agreed  to  remove  West ;  but  this  treaty,  which  was  communicated  by  the 
President  to  the  Senate  for  their  approval,  was  not,  owing  to  certain  modifications 
requiring  the  concurrence  of  the  Indians,  finally  confirmed  by  the  Senate  until  the 
close  of  the  session  of  1837. 

In  order  to  protect  the  emigrant  tribes  on  the  South  and  West,  treaties  were 
concluded  on  the  25th  of  May  with  the  barbarous  tribes  of  the  Kiowas,  Katakas,  and 
Takawaros,  of  the  prairies,  and  friendly  relations  were  established  with  the  Coman- 
ches,  or  Niufias,  of  Texas,  a  powerful  and  dominant  tribe  in  that  quarter. 

The  removal  of  the  Cherokees  in  a  peaceful  and  conciliatory  manner  produced  a 
favorable  effect,  although  the  other  events  of  the  year  1838  were  of  equal  interest  to 
the  public  mind.  Positions  requiring  energy  of  action  were  taken  by  several  tribes. 
The  Pottawatomies  of  Indiana  ceded  their  lands  in  1833,  and  agreed  to  remove  West, 
Indiana  and  the  adjoining  State  of  Illinois  having  filled  up  very  rapidly  with  settlers 
on  their  northern  borders,  the  rich  prairies  and  fine  commercial  marts  and  outlets 
presenting  great  attractions  to  an  enterprising  people.  This  tribe,  being  the  recipient 
of  large  annuities,  was  counselled  by  the  traders  and  other  interested  persons  to 
remain  where  it  was,  that  the  distribution  of  these  sums  might  be  made  in  the 
country.  The  emigrant  agent,  finding  his  operations  impeded,  and  fearing  an  out 
break  and  consequent  bloodshed,  called  on  the  Governor  of  Indiana  for  aid,  who 
authorized  General  John  Tipton  to  raise  one  hundred  volunteers  to  assist  the  agent 
in  the  removal  of  the  Indians.  This  duty  was  promptly  performed,  and,  from  the 
report  of  that  officer,  eight  hundred  and  fifty-nine  Pottawatomies  were  delivered  to 
the  emigrant  agent  on  the  Illinois  on  the  18th  of  September ;  these  were  sent  West, 


404  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

escorted  by  dragoons  to  preserve  order,  and  safely  conveyed  to  their  location,  every 
attention  being  paid  to  their  health,  comfort,  and  convenience.  Such  as  were  over- 
fatigued  by  the  rapidity  of  the  marches,  and  were  sickly,  or  invalids,  were  allowed 
to  ride  the  horses  of  the  dragoons  while  the  men  walked. 

There  were  removed  during  this  year  4106  Creeks,  chiefly  comprising  the  families 
of  the  warriors  of  this  tribe  who  had  been  engaged  in  the  Florida  war,  177  Choc- 
taws,  4600  Chickasaws,  151  Chippewas,  and  1651  Appalachicolas  and  Florida  Indians, 
making  an  aggregate  of  29,459.  The  Winnebago  Indians,  of  Wisconsin,  evinced 
great  tardiness  and  unwillingness  to  leave  the  country.  The  isolated  tribes  in  the 
settlements  became  entangled  with  associations  which  it  is  difficult  for  a  people  of  so 
little  decision  of  character  to  abandon.  This  tribe,  by  a  treaty  made  at  Washington 
on  the  28th  of  October,  renewed  the  engagements  entered  into  and  endorsed  by  the 
treaty  concluded  at  Rock  Island  in  1832,  after  the  close  of  the  Sac  war,  and  agreed 
to  remove  to  the  Neutral  Ground  in  eight  months.  As  this  limitation  expired  in  the 
winter,  they  solicited  permission,  and  were  allowed,  to  remain  in  Wisconsin  until 
spring.  A  treaty  was  concluded  with  the  Saginaws  by  the  Acting  Superintendent 
of  Michigan,  guaranteeing  them  the  minimum  prices  for  their  lands  ceded  by  the 
treaty  of  the  20th  December,  1837,  a  measure  necessary  to  prevent  combinations  to 
control  the  sales,  which  were  designed  to  be  exclusively  for  their  benefit. 

The  Superintendent  of  Indian  Affairs  for  Michigan,  in  his  annual  report  for  this 
year,  makes  the  following  allusions  to  the  Saginaws : 

"  This  isolated  tribe  has  lived  down  to  the  present  time  with  all  the  essential  traits 
common  to  the  darkest  period  of  their  history.  They  are  heady,  bad-tempered,  fond 
of  drink,  and  savage  when  under  its  influence.  Yet  they  are  a  people  of  strong 
mental  traits,  of  independent  and  generous  feelings,  and  warmly  attached  to  their 
ancient  mode  of  living  and  superstitions.  They  speak  a  well-characterized  dialect 
of  the  Chippewa  language,  holding  nearly  the  same  relation  to  the  great  Algic  family 
of  the  North  that  the  Seminoles  do  to  the  Creeks  of  the  South.  Their  country 
appears  to  have  been  a  place  of  refuge  to  the  other  tribes.  They  succeeded  to  the 
possessions  of  the  Sauks,  who  were  driven  from  the  banks  of  the  Saginaw  about  the 
close  of  the  sixteenth  or  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century.  They  have  been 
observed  for  at  least  a  century  to  have  had  a  ruling  chief,  who  exercised  more  of  the 
powers  of  a  dictator  than  is  usual  with  the  other  tribes.  They  are  known  to  have 
indulged  their  predatory  and  warlike  propensities  by  participating  in  the  scenes  of 
attack  and  plunder  which  marked  the  early  settlements  of  Western  Virginia,  Penn 
sylvania,  and  Kentucky. 

"  The  country  occupied  by  the  Saginaws  is  fertile,  densely  wooded,  and  abounds 
in  streams  affording  valuable  water-power.  It  is  still  but  sparsely  settled,  but  in 
proportion  as  the  lands  are  taken  up  the  natural  means  of  subsistence  of  the  Indians 
must  diminish,  although  it  is  stated  that  portions  of  the  public  lands  west  and  north 
of  the  Tittabawassee  will  afford  a  theatre  for  hunting  for  many  years.  The  recent 
ratification  by  the  Senate  of  the  treaty  of  January  14,  1837,  with  this  tribe,  extin 
guishes  their  title  to  all  their  possessions  in  Michigan,  saving  the  right  to  live  for 


REMOVAL   OF  THE   TRIBES   WEST  OF   THE  MISSISSIPPI.  405 

five  years  on  two  of  tbe  ceded  reservations  on  Saginaw  Bay.  In  1837  this  tribe  lost 
three  hundred  and  fifty-four  persons  by  the  smallpox,  of  whom  one  hundred  and  six 
were  men,  one  hundred  and  seven  women,  and  one  hundred  and  forty-one  children. 
Their  present  population,  by  a  census  just  completed,  is  nine  hundred  and  ninety- 
three,  two  hundred  and  twenty-one  of  whom  are  males,  two  hundred  and  ninety- 
eight  females,  and  four  hundred  and  seventy-four  youtlis  and  infants.  In  1837  their 
corn-fields  were  either  damaged  or  wholly  destroyed  by  high  water  in  the  Saginaw 
and  its  tributaries. 

"  The  department  maintains  for  them  a  sub-agent,  an  interpreter,  a  blacksmith 
and  assistant,  and  one  principal  and  several  subordinate  farmers.  They  appear  to 
have  been  overlooked  by  philanthropist,  having  up  to  this  date  neither  schools  nor 
teachers  of  any  description." 

On  the  6th  of  November  a  treaty  was  entered  into  with  the  Miamis  at  the  forks 
of  the  Wabash,  by  which  this  tribe  ceded  170,000  acres  of  reservations  in  that 
quarter,  for  which  they  received  $335,000.     They  were  compensated  for  all  buildings 
and  improvements,  and  furnished  by  the  United  States  with  a  location  in  the  Indian 
Territory  west  of  the  Mississippi,  "  sufficient  in  extent,  suited  to  their  wants  and 
wishes,"  and  contiguous  to  that  occupied  by  the  tribes  which  emigrated  from  the 
States  of  Ohio  and  Indiana.     They  agreed  to  send  a  delegation  to  explore  the  country 
proposed  to  be  given  them,  their  expenses  to  be  defrayed  by  the  government.     This 
treaty  and  exploration  led  to  the  eventual  removal  of  this  tribe,  once  the  terror  of 
the  West,  and  so  numerous  and  warlike  that  during  Washington's  administration 
they  defeated  successive  armies  under  Harmar  and  St.  Clair,  and  for  years  prevented 
the  settlement  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  in  the  AVcst.     This  tribe  finally  migrated  to 
the  Indian  Territory,  diminished  in  numbers,  degraded  in  morals  and  habits,  wanting 
in  industry,  and  lacking  education,  but  affluent  in  government  funds  and  annuities. 
After  their  final  defeat  by  Wayne,  in  1794,  they  submitted  to  the  authority  of  the 
United  States,  and  took  up  their  residence  in  one  of  the  richest  valleys  of  the  West, 
abounding  in  game  and  all  the  requisites  for  Indian  subsistence.     They  pursued  the 
usual  course  of  hunters,  being  satisfied  if  the  exertions  of  the  year  afforded  them  the 
means  of  living,  little  heeding  that  they  would  soon  be  surrounded  by  an  industrious 
population  and  finally  supplanted  by  them.     In  this  thoughtless,  careless,  idle  man 
ner  they  lived  in  the  Wabash  Valley  until  their  lands  became  valuable.     They  began 
to  cede  their  territory  in  1809,  and  continued  that  course  in  1814,  1818,  1826,  and 
down  to  the  date  of  their  removal.     But  die  large  sums  they  received  through  this 
channel  had  the  effect  to  destroy  their  self-reliance  and  native  independence  of 
character,  to  degrade  them  in  habits  and  morals,  to  introduce  disease,  and  to  lead 
in  every  way  to  a  rapid  depopulation.     This  tribe,  which  in  1764  was  estimated  in 
its  divisions  at  five  thousand  souls,  or  one  thousand  warriors,  and  at  the  commence 
ment  of  the  American  Revolution  at  three  hundred  and  fifty  warriors,  or  seventeen 
hundred  and  fifty  souls,  was  reduced  at  the  time  of  its  removal  to  about  seven  hun 
dred  persons,  and  when  a  census  of  the  tribe  was  taken  in  1850  it  had  dwindled  to 
five  hundred  souls,  who  were  in  receipt  of  an  annuity  of  $44,000. 


406  THS  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

The  summer  of  1837  is  memorable  in  Indian  history  for  the  visitation  of  one  of 
those  calamities  which  have  so  much  reduced  the  Indian  population,— viz.,  the  ravages 
of  the  smallpox,  which  then  swept  through  the  Missouri  Valley.  The  disease  was 
introduced  among  them  from  a  steamboat  which  ascended  that  river  from  the  city 
of  St.  Louis  in  July.  On  the  15th  of  that  month  the  disease  made  its  appearance 
in  the  village  of  the  Mandans,  great  numbers  of  whom  fell  victims  to  it.  Thence  it 
spread  rapidly  over  the  entire  country,  and  tribe  after  tribe  was  decimated  by  it 

The  Mandans,  among  whom  the  pestilence  commenced,  are  stated  to  have  been 
njduced  from  an  estimated  population  of  sixteen  hundred  souls  to  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five.1  The  Minnetarees,  or  Gros  Venires,  out  of  a  population  of  one  thou 
sand  persons,  lost  one-half  their  number.  The  Arickarees,  numbering  three  thou 
sand,  were  reduced  by  this  pestilence  to  fifteen  hundred.  The  Crows,  or  Upsarokas, 
lost  great  numbers,  and  the  survivors  saved  themselves  by  a  rapid  retreat  to  the 
mountains.  The  Assiniboins,  a  people  roughly  estimated  at  nine  thousand,  were 
swept  off  by  hundreds.  The  Crees,  living  in  the  same  region,  and  numbering  three 
thousand  souls,  suffered  in  an  equal  degree.  The  disease  appears  to  have  at  length 
exhausted  its  virulence  on  the  Blackfeet  and  Bloods,  a  numerous  and  powerful  genus 
of  tribes.  One  thousand  lodges  are  reported  to  have  been  desolated,  and  left  stand 
ing,  without  a  solitary  inhabitant,  on  the  prairies,  once  the  residence  of  this  proud 
and  warlike  race, — a  sad  memorial  of  this  dreadful  scourge. 

Visitors  to  these  regions  during  the  year  when  this  dread  pestilence  was  raging 
there  represent  the  Indian  country  as  being  truly  desolate.  Women  and  children 
were  met  wandering  about  without  protection,  or  seated  near  the  graves  of  their 
husbands  and  parents,  uttering  pitiable  lamentations.  Howling  dogs  roamed  about, 
seeking  their  masters.  On  every  side  was  desolation,  and  wrecks  of  mortality  every- 
.vhere  presented  themselves  to  the  view.  It  is  reported  that  some  of  the  Indians, 
after  recovering  from  the  disease,  when  they  saw  how  it  had  disfigured  their  faces, 
threw  themselves  into  the  Missouri  River. 

The  dissensions  between  the  antagonistic  parties  of  the  Cherokees,  called  the 
Rossites  and  Ridgeites,  originated  by  the  treaty  of  New  Echota,  reached  their  crisis 
during  tae  year  1839.  The  smothered  dislikes  and  hatred  of  four  years  burst  forth 
with  a  fierceness  which  threatened  to  drench  the  Territory  with  blood.  The  brutal 
murder  of  the  Ridges,  father  and  son,  and  of  Elias  Boudinot,  will  long  remain  as 
foul  blots  on  their  tribal  escutcheon,  for,  however  ignorant  the  Eastern  Cherokees 
may  have  been  of  moral  law  and  the  theory  of  government,  no  plea  can  shield  them 
from  censure  for  the  assassination  of  their  fellow-men  on  account  of  political  dissen 
sions  or  differences  of  opinion. 

The  Western  Cherokees,  who  had  emigrated  with  the  sanction  of  Mr.  Jefferson'? 
administration,  and  fixed  their  residence  in  Arkansas,  as  early  as  1817,  had  estab 
lished  a  form  of  government  and  adopted  written  laws.  When  the  treaty  party 

1  In  1836  this  tribe  was  reported  to  the  Indian  Office  as  having  •  population  of  3200.  In  1852  the 
number  returned  was  385.  Mr.  Catliu  was  mistaken  when  he  reported  its  extinction. 


REMOVAL   OF   THE   TRIBES    WEST  OF    THE  MISSISSIPPI.  407 

migrated,  under  the  supervision  of  Messrs.  Ridge  and  Boudinot,  they  united  with 
the  old  settlers,  and  lived  contentedly  under  the  established  order  of  things.     But 
the  malcontent  party,  who  migrated  with  Mr.  Ross  in   1838,  went  thither  with 
emhittercd  and  revengeful  feelings  against  the  treaty  party  and  the  old  settlers,  and 
refused  to  suhmit  to  the  existing  government  and  laws  of  the  Western  Cherokees. 
On  reaching  the  country,  the  Rossites,  finding  that  they  outnumbered  the  Ridgeites 
in  the  proportion  of  about  two  to  one,  at  once  became  sticklers  for  the  democratic 
doctrine  that  majorities  should  rule.     It  would  have  been  well  if  in  grasping  at 
power  they  had  not  forgotten  right.     But  it  soon  became  evident  that  they  were 
determined  not  only  to  ignore  the  old  form  of  government  and  laws,  but  to  establish 
new  ones,  and  to  compel  the  minority  to  submit  to  them,  right  or  wrong.     The 
Western  Cherokees,  however,  so  stoutly  contested  the  ground  that  within  an  incred 
ibly  short  time  a  desperate  feud  was  enkindled,  and  the  entire  country  was  plunged 
into  discord.     Neither  party  were  as  conciliatory  in  their  views  and  opinions,  or  in 
their  deportment  and  manners,  as  men  of  twenty  years'  experience  in  self-govern 
ment  ought  to  have  been,  and  neither  appear  to  have  duly  estimated  the  importance 
of  compromise  and  union.     The  words,  though  spoken,  had  no  place  in  their  hearts: 
one  party  was  unyielding,  the  other  was  furious  and  aggressive. 

A  convention  for  the  adjustment  of  their  difficulties  was  summoned  to  meet  at 
Tukatokah  on  the  20th  of  June,  1839,  which  remained  in  session  for  eight  or  nine 
days.     Its  discussions  were  exciting,  discordant,  and  bitter.     The  Rossites,  who  were 
in  the  majority,  resolved  to  hold  their  power,  and  the  Ridgeites  determined  not  to 
succumb.     When  it  became  evident  that  a  compromise  could  not  be  effected,  threats 
were  used,  whereupon  some  of  the  Ridgeite  chiefs  withdrew  to  their  homes,  and  the 
council  adjourned  without  effecting  anything  except  the  manifestation  of  a  deep  and 
settled  prejudice  on  both  sides,  and  of  the  irreconcilable  character  of  the  feud.     It 
is  said  that  on  the  evening  when  this  council  was  dissolved  a  secret  conclave  of  the 
leaders  of  the  Rossites  was  held,  who  selected  forty  men,  to  whom  was  assigned  the 
duty  of  assassinating  the  leaders  of  the  Ridgeites,  the  party  who  had  signed  the 
treaty  of  New  Echota,  of  the  28th  of  December,  1825.     For  fourteen  years  this 
grudge  had  been  nourished  in  the  hearts  of  the  malcontent  party,  until  it  at  last 
resulted  in  the  commission  of  a  cowardly  murder.      However  true  may  be  the 
assertion  regarding  the  session  of  this  dark  conclave,  it  is  certain  that  on  the  fol 
lowing  day  the  inhuman  and  cruel  murders  of  Boudinot,  and  of  the  Ridges,  both 
father  and  son,  were  perpetrated.     Boudinot  was  in  the  act  of  superintending  the 
erection  of  a  building,  when  he  was  accosted  by  four  Indians,  who  solicited  him  to 
visit  a  house  some  hundreds  of  yards  distant,  and  administer  some  medicines,  he 
being  a  physician.     With  his  usual  promptness  he  complied,  and  had  proceeded 
about  half  the  distance,  when  he  was  suddenly  assassinated.     The  fiends  were  not 
satisfied  with  killing  him,  but  cut  him  into  pieces  in  the  most  shocking  manner. 
The  younger  Ridge  was  the  next  victim  of  this  secret  band  of  executioners.    He 
was  dragged  from  his  bed,  in  the  midst  of  his  family,  and  dispatched.    The  elder 
Ridge,  who  was  absent  on  a  visit  into  the  adjoining  limits  of  Arkansas,  was  waylaid 


408  TnE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

and  shot  by  persons  who  occupied  an  eminence  beside  the  road,  and  his  body  when 
discovered  by  his  friends  was  found  to  have  been  pierced  by  five  rifle-balls. 

This  violence  excited  great  commotion  in  the  nation,  and,  far  from  checking 
the  zeal  of  the  Ridge  party,  it  only  inflamed  it  Discord  reigned  everywhere,  and 
Mr.  John  Ross,  who  was  accused  of  concerting  the  plot  of  the  assassination,  sur 
rounded  his  house  with  a  guard  of  five  hundred  of  his  adherents.  Several  chiefs  of 
the  opposite  party  took  shelter  within  the  walls  of  Fort  Gibson,  where  they  were  pro 
tected  by  General  Arbuckle,  who  also  offered  a  refuge  to  Mr.  Ross,  which  he  declined. 
In  the  correspondence  which  ensued  between  the  commandant  of  the  fort  and  Mr. 
Ross,  the  latter  disclosed  a  subtle,  cautious,  and  evasive  policy.  Extreme  positions 
were  taken  by  both  parties,  evincing  a  bitterly  discordant  and  hostile  spirit.  The 
darkest  of  the  ensuing  transactions  on  the  part  of  the  Rossites  was  the  calling  of  a 
convention,  or  general  council,  composed  almost  exclusively  of  their  own  party, 
which  passed  a  resolution  granting  an  amnesty  to  the  murderers.  They  also  subse 
quently  declared  some  of  the  leading  Ridgeites  outlaws.  These  proceedings  were 
disapproved  by  the  local  military  and  officers  of  the  department,  whose  suggestions 
for  effecting  a  reunion  were  unheeded.  The  government  at  Washington  instructed 
its  officers  to  demand  the  surrender  of  the  murderers,  that  they  might  be  brought  to 
trial,  and  directed  them  to  withhold  the  Cherokee  annuities  while  this  discordant 
state  of  society  existed. 

Mr.  Ross,  having  evaded  any  direct  issue  in  the  correspondence,  sought  to  procure 
an  investigation  of  the  matter  at  a  distant  point,  where  witnesses  could  not  be  so 
readily  summoned,  and  for  this  purpose  sent  his  brother,  Lewis  Ross,  and  two  other 
Cherokees,  to  Washington.  A  personal  interview  with  the  Secretary  of  War  was 
obtained,  and  an  appeal  made  by  Lewis  Ross  in  favor  of  his  brother,  in  which  he 
spoke  of  the  murders  as  private  acts,  and  of  the  decree  of  their  general  party  council 
extending  pardon  to  the  actors  therein  as  being  conclusive  of  the  matter.  He  urged 
that  an  investigation  should  be  instituted  at  the  seat  of  government.  This  Mr. 
Poinsett  denied,  remarking  that  if  John  Ross  were  innocent  he  would  not  oppose  the 
arrest  of  the  murderers,  or  attempt  to  shield  them ;  that  with  his  known  influence 
over  the  nation  he  might  have  prevented  the  commission  of  the  savage  deeds ;  but 
he  could  now  contribute  to  the  ends  of  justice  by  surrendering  the  criminals  whose 
barbarities  had  been  countenanced  and  themselves  exonerated  by  the  national  council. 
The  secretary  said  that  the  council  had  no  legal  right  to  sanction  a  violation  of  all 
laws,  human  and  divine,  and  that  no  investigation  was  required  so  long  as  John 
Ross,  the  chief  magistrate,  refused  to  deliver  up  the  murdere*  j  to  justice.  He  was 
not  charged,  it  was  conceded,  with  having  ordered  the  murderers  to  perform  the 
criminal  act,  but  he  had  permitted  it  to  be  done  when  a  word  from  him  would  have 
spared  the  effusion  of  innocent  blood.  He  might  justify  himself  by  withdrawing 
his  protection  from  the  murderers  and  giving  them  up,  but  the  government  would 
continue  to  regard  him  as  the  instigator  and  abettor  of  these  foul  deeds  until  that 
was  done.  Mr.  Poinsett  concluded  by  saying  that  the  majority  ought  to  rule  while 
guided  by  law  and  principle,  but  that  they  had  by  their  cruel,  savage,  and  lawless 


REMOVAL   OF  THE   TRIBES   WEST  OF  THE  MISSISSIPPI.  409 

course  forfeited  all  right  to  govern  the  old  settlers,  who  were  in  a  minority ;  that 
they  had  proved  themselves  tyrants  in  the  worst  sense  of  the  term ;  and  that  the 
government  would  not  for  a  moment  uphold  or  sanction  tyranny,  least  of  all  brutal, 
savage  tyranny. 

The  Cherokees  were  convulsed  hy  political  turmoils  for  some  years,  during  which 
unmistakable  tokens  gave  evidence  that,  however  dissensions  might  prevail,  the 
ultimate  result  would  be  a  union  of  all  the  jarring  elements,  and  the  institution  of  u 
permanent  government.     Strong  wills  and  clear  minds  were  to  be  found  in  their 
councils.     The  rivalries  and  jealousies  of  the  chiefs  had  been  fearfully  excited  by 
the  transaction  of  New  Echota,  which  it  was  hoped  the  conciliatory  measures  of  thu 
government  would  have  soothed,  but,  like  a  violent  and  stubborn  disease,  the  evil 
could  not  be  cured  by  palliatives,  and  required  stronger  applications,  which,  while 
they  relieved,  at  the  same  time  infuriated  the  patient.     It  required  time  to  quell 
discords  which  had  distracted  the  Cherokee  nation  to  the  centre,  and  the  result  has 
proved  that  time  was  the  true  remedy.     No  tribe  of  the  same  aggregate  population 
had  emigrated,  and  no  other  tribe  which  removed  to  the  Territory  had  been  so  long 
and  so  successfully  the  subject  of  instruction.     A  people  who  had  invented  a  new 
alphabet,  who  had  long  participated  in  the  school  system,  who  had  learned  the  arts 
of  the  loom  and  spindle,  and  who  had  reached  a  condition  of  domestic  society  and 
manners,  the  refinement,  tastes,  and  elegance  of  which  may  be  judged  of  by  the 
bright  example  of  Catherine  Brown,  could  not  lack  clearness  of  conception,  or  the 
power  of  distinguishing  between  the  principles  of  right  and  wrong.     To  deny  this, 
as  there  was  a  Scottish  element  in  the  nation,  would  be  as  absurd  as  to  aver  that  the 
mental  calibre  of  the  Scottish  people  at  a  distinct  era  of  Caledonian  history  should  be 
judged  by  the  examples  of  Rob  Hoy  or  the  actors  in  the  brutal  atrocities  of  Glencoe. 
The  smaller  tribes  who  yet  lingered  in  the  States  may  be  regarded  as  occupying 
the  relative  position  of  boulders  in  the  geological  system.     They  had  been  removed 
from  their  natal  positions,  and  located  in  questionable  situations.     The  flood  that 
swept  them  forward  before  its  resistless  waves  was  the  European  race,  and  it  seemed 
doubtful  whether  they  would  ever  again  find  a  permanent  foothold  on  the  soil. 

One  of  these  boulder  tribes,  who  of  their  own  accord  sought  refuge  in  the  col 
onized  territory,  was  the  so-called  Stockbridges,  comprising  remnants  of  the  ancient 
Mohicans.  At  the  period  of  the  discovery  of  the  river  Hudson  (Chatemuc,  the 
Mohican  of  their  own  vocabulary,  and  the  Cohahatatea  of  the  Iroquois)  this  people 
resided  on  its  western  banks,  opposite  to  and  south  of  Albany.  When  the  population 
of  the  colonies  pressed  upon  them  they  crossed  the  Taconic  range,  and  concentrated 
their  people  in  the  valley  of  the  Housatonic,  in  Massachusetts,  where  for  years  they 
received  tuition  from  the  eminent  theologian  Edwards.  They  espoused  the  cause  of 
the  colonies  during  the  Revolutionary  War,  their  services  as  runners,  flankers,  and 
gun-men  having  been  highly  appreciated.  After  the  close  of  that  contest  they 
removed  to  the  upper  waters  of  the  Oneida  Creek  Valley  by  virtue  of  an  arrange 
ment  with  the  Oneida  canton,  then  under  the  government  of  the  benevolent  Shen- 
andoah.  About  the  year  1822  they  entered  into  negotiations  with  the  Menomonies, 

u— 52 


410  WWf  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

of  Wisconsin,  and  subsequently  removed  to  and  settled  on  Fox  River,  of  Green 
Bay ;  but  ten  or  twelve  years'  residence  in  this  quarter  was  sufficient  to  satisfy  them 
that  the  white  population  would  soon  hem  them  in  as  closely  there  as  they  had  done 
in  New  York.  They  entered  into  frequent  negotiations  with  the  government,  first 
accepting  a  tract  on  the  banks  of  Lake  Winnebago,  but  subsequently,  selling  this, 
they  stipulated  for  a  location  on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi.  In  1840  a  considerable 
number  of  the  tribe,  located  on  Lake  Winnebago,  in  Wisconsin,  withdrew  from  the 
others,  and  emigrated  to  the  Indian  colony  west  of  the  Missouri.  They  were  accom 
panied  by  the  Munsees,  whose  ancestors  had  been  their  neighbors  on  the  west  bank 
of  the  Hudson  in  ancient  times,  and  by  an  emigrating  party  of  Delawares  from  the 
river  Thames,  in  Canada,  under  command  of  the  chief  Thomas  T.  Hendrick.  The 
entire  party,  numbering  one  hundred  and  seventy-four  persons,  were  received  by 
their  tribal  relatives,  the  Delawares,  who  furnished  them  with  a  residence  on  their 
large  reservation  near  Fort  Leavenworth,  on  the  Kansas  River. 

The  oft-tried  temporizing  and  erroneous  policy  of  removing  Indians  from  one 
location  within  the  States  to  another,  however  remote,  also  within  their  limits,  has 
uniformly  proved  to  be  a  failure.  The  experience  of  the  Stockbridges,  Munsees,  and 
segregated  Delawares  was  now  added  to  prove  the  evil  results  arising  from  this 
policy.  Such  removed  tribes  and  bands  were  speedily  surrounded  by  a  white  popu 
lation,  with  whom  they  did  not  coalesce,  and  naturally  wasted  away  under  the 
influence  of  adverse  manners  and  customs. ' 

The  same  attempt  to  remove  a  tribe  from  one  State  to  another  was  made  with  the 
Winnebagoes.  Having  been  implicated  in  the  Sauk  war,  they  agreed  in  1832,  at 
Rock  Island,  where  the  American  army  was  then  encamped,  to  leave  the  east  banks 
of  the  Mississippi,  abandoning  their  favorite  Rock  River,  Wisconsin,  and  Fox  River 
Valleys,  and  remove  to  a  position  west  of  the  Mississippi  denominated  the  Neutral 
Ground.  For  them,  however,  it  was  not  "neutral  ground."  It  was,  in  fact,  the  war- 
ground  of  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  and  Sioux,  and  they  had,  under  the  influence  of  the 
presence  of  a  military  force,  agreed  to  a  proposition  which  they  had  neither  the 
ability  nor  the  will  to  perform.  Though  ethnologically  of  the  Sioux  stock,  their 
affinity  was  not  to  be  relied  on ;  they  possessed  a  nationality  of  their  own,  and  could 
not,  after  ages  of  separation,  take  shelter  under  the  Sioux  flag.  The  plan  of  the 
neutral  ground  was  a  benevolent  theory,  which  it  was  hoped  and  believed  would 
work  well,  but  it  eventually  proved  to  be  an  utter  fallacy.  It  had,  however,  strong 
advocates,  being  favored  by-many  persons  who  did  not  wish  to  see  the  Winnebagoes 
removed,  with  their  large  means  and  annuities,  beyond  the  reach  of  a  peripatetic 
peddler's  footsteps,  or  to  lose  sight  of  the  distribution  of  their  annual  per  capita 
dollars. 

In  1837  the  Winnebagoes  renewed  by  treaty  their  engagement  to  remove  to  the 
Neutral  Ground,  in  Iowa,  within  eight  months  after  the  ratification  of  that  instru 
ment.  The  treaty  was  not  ratified  until  June,  1838,  which  would  limit  the  period 
for  their  removal  to  February,  1839.  They  still  lingered  in  the  valleys  of  their 
ancient  home,  until  the  matter  of  their  removal  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  General 


REMOVAL   OF  THE   TRIBES   WEST  OF  THE  mSSIPPlPPL  4H 

Atkinson.  When  they  discovered  that  the  government  was  in  earnest,  the  mass 
of  them  removed  across  the  Mississippi  without  causing  much  difficulty,  but,  though 
still  urged  to  proceed  to  the  Neutral  Ground,  they  encamped  on  the  western  margin 
of  the  river,  where  they  were  allowed  to  remain  until  the  following  year.  Mean 
time,  they  were  afflicted  by  considerable  sickness,  and  surrounded  by  whiskey-shops, 
together  with  every  temptation  that  Indians  possessing  heavy  annuities  are  sure  to 
encounter.  Their  agent  established  his  buildings  and  shops  on  the  Neutral  Ground, 
where  the  tribe  was  eventually  induced  to  settle  by  the  announcement  that  there 
only  would  they  be  paid  their  annuities.  It  will  be  seen  in  the  sequel  that  in  a  few 
years  it  became  necessary  to  remove  the  Winnebagoes  from  the  limits  of  Iowa. 

A  mistake  of  a  similar  kind  was  made  with  the  united  Chippewas,  Ottawa*,  and 
Pottawatomies,  who  ceded  their  lands  in  Illinois  by  the  treaty  concluded  at  Chicago 
in  1833.  A  part  of  the  consideration  named  in  it  was  the  grant  of  5,000,000  acres 
of  land  in  the  West ;  in  accordance  with  which  they  were  placed  on  a  tongue  of 
land  situate  between  the  western  boundary  of  the  State  of  Missouri  and  the  Missouri 
River.  The  progress  of  the  settlements  in  Missouri  made  this  tract  of  land  so 
essentially  a  geographical  part  of  that  State,  and  so  necessary  to  its  agricultural  and 
commercial  development,  that  Congress  annexed  it  thereto ;  which  act  rendered  it 
imperative  for  the  government  to  provide  these  Indians  with  the  stipulated  5,000,000 
acres  west  of  the  Missouri  River. 

Other  bands  of  Pottawatomies,  residing  in  Indiana,  who  had  ceded  their  posses 
sions  in  that  quarter,  were  removed  during  this  year,  under  the  immediate  surveil 
lance  of  General  Brady.  There  were  also  some  accessions  of  the  Seminoles  from 
Florida,  and  of  fragments  of  the  segregated  bands  of  the  Black  River  and  Swan 
Creek  Chippewaa,  of  Michigan.  The  whole  number  of  Indians  removed  in  1840 
was  5G71.  The  Cherokee  difficulties  had  this  year  been  so  far  compromised  between 
the  two  contending  parties  that  Mr.  Poinsett,  the  Secretary  of  War,  directed  the 
annuities  to  be  paid. 

Internal  dissensions,  arising  from  private  jealousies  and  ambitions,  have  been  the 
real  but  secret  source  of  many  tribal  discords.  Questions  regarding  the  disposition 
of  funds,  and  the  regulation  of  their  internal  policy,  have  been  discussed  and  settled 
in  both  general  and  tribal  councils.  The  object  for  which  these  bodies  are  now  con 
vened  is  not,  as  formerly,  during  the  hunter  state  of  the  tribes,  to  discuss  the  policy 
of  proclaiming  war  or  concluding  peace,  and  to  wrangle  with  one  another  respecting 
trespasses  on  tribal  boundaries,  but  to  adjust  their  civil  affairs.  Morals,  education, 
arts,  and  agriculture  respectively  occupy  a  share  of  attention  in  these  public  assem 
blies,  and  the  progressive  improvement  in  the  Indian  character  has  been  such  that 
their  councils  and  assemblies  have  been  completely  changed  in  a  few  years,  from 
arenas  for  the  display  of  wrangling  and  disputatious  and  declamatory  elocution,  to 
legislative  bodies  whose  meetings  are  characterized  by  calm  and  sober  discussion 
and  dispassionate  decision.  Reference  is  had  particularly  to  the  five  tribes  of  the 
Cherokees,  Creeks,  Chickasaws,  Choctaws,  and  Seminoles.  The  representative  prin 
ciple  has  been  generally  adopted  for  limited  periods  and  definite  objects.  The 


412  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

beneficial  effects  of  temperance,  a  virtuous  life,  and  habits  of  industry  on  the  man 
ners  of  society,  and  on  public  as  well  as  private  prosperity,  have  been  recognized 
and  acknowledged  as  the  true  elements  of  political  economy.  These  leading  tribes 
have,  indeed,  fairly  embarked  in  their  national  career,  which  perseverance,  energy, 
and  decision  will  enable  them  to  pursue  triumphantly. 

The  Cherokee  disturbance,  once  so  threatening,  entirely  subsided  in  a  few  years, 
and  it  is  now  evident  that  the  prosperity  of  the  nation  was  well  secured  by  the  treaty 
of  New  Echota,  although  the  execution  of  that  instrument  by  the  minority  gave  the 
political  and  personal  preponderance  to  the  majority,  and  took  the  power  from  the 
leading  pacific  and  progressive  chiefs.  The  act  was  regarded  by  the  malcontent 
chiefs  as  a  usurpation  of  authority,  and  their  feelings  were  more  highly  excited  by 
the  loss  of  personal  power  than  by  that  of  national  wealth. 

Events  occurring  among  the  Indian  tribes  are  slow  in  development,  and  years 
elapse  before  discords  are  forgotten  or  opinions  become  nationalized.  This  may  be 
fully  demonstrated  by  reference  to  the  history  of  the  Cherokees.  Years  have  passed 
away,  and  the  blood  of  Boudinot  and  the  Ridges  has  not,  to  use  an  Indian  metaphor, 
been  washed  from  the  assassins'  hands.  The  sanguinary  deeds  which  once  harrowed 
the  feelings  of  the  nation  and  aroused  the  sympathies  of  the  Union  have  been  suc 
ceeded  by  peace,  though  the  atrocities  are  not  forgotten ;  and  the  government  of 
the  Cherokees,  the  great  bone  of  internal  contention  for  so  many  years,  remains  in 
the  hands  of  the  Rossite  party.  The  true  friends  of  the  nation  may  feel  a  consola 
tion  in  reflecting  that  the  wise  forecast  and  decision  of  character  which  induced  the 
Cherokees  to  relinquish  their  ancient  residences  east  of  the  Mississippi,  and  begin  a 
new  career  of  industry  in  the  West,  have  laid  the  foundation  of  the  permanent  pros 
perity  and  civilization  of  the  tribe,  and  that  Elias  Boudinot  and  John  Ridge  will 
long  be  remembered  as  the  great  benefactors  and  moral  heroes  of  their  country. 
Those  who  stained  their  hands  in  the  patriotic  blood  of  these  men  failed  thereby 
to  arrest  the  onward  progress  of  the  Cherokees. 

At  the  time  when  their  systematic  removal  was  commenced  by  the  government, 
there  still  remained  within  the  States  east  of  the  line  of  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri 
110,349  souls.  At  the  close  of  the  year  1836,  45,690  of  this  number,  comprising 
portions  of  nineteen  tribes,  had  been  transferred  to  the  West.  At  this  time  there 
had  been  established  for  these  tribes  in  their  new  locations  fifty-one  schools,  at  which 
twenty-two  hundred  and  twenty-one  pupils  were  instructed.  In  addition  to  this, 
one  hundred  and  fifty-six  pupils  of  an  advanced  grade  were  instructed  at  the 
Choctaw  Academy,  in  Kentucky,  and  four  of  the  graduates  were  studying  the  legal 
profession  in  New  York,  Vermont,  and  elsewhere. 

In  1855  the  four  Southern  or  Appalachian  tribes,  namely,  the  Cherokees,  Choc- 
taws,  Chickasaws,  and  Creeks,  including  the  Seminoles,  had  an  aggregate  population 
of  62,176.  The  twenty  small  tribes  and  tribal  bands  located  in  the  Territory  of 
Kansas  numbered  13,481,  making  a  total  aggregate  population  of  75,657. 


PERIOD   VIII. 


INDIAN  AFFAIBS  SINCE  THE  ACQUISITION  OF  NEW  MEXICO  AND 

CALIFORNIA. 


CHAPTER    I. 

ORGANIZATION  OF  THE  TERRITORIES  OF  KANSAS  AND  NEBRASKA— HOSTILITIES 
IN  CALIFORNIA  AND  OREGON— SIOUX  WAR  OF  1862-63  IN  MINNESOTA— THE 
CHEROKEES  IN  THE  REBELLION. 

FOLLOWING-  the  acquisition  of  territory  on  the  Pacific  coast,  resulting  from  the 
Mexican  War  in  1846-48,  numerous  emigrant  trains  began  to  cross  the  plains, 
necessarily  passing  through  the  Indian  reservations  west  of  the  Missouri.  Depreda 
tions  were  committed  upon  the  Indians,  whose  rights  were  utterly  disregarded,  and 
whose  lives  were  often  taken.  The  pledge  of  the  United  States  to  every  tribe  that 
they  should  be  protected  in  the  peaceful  enjoyment  of  the  country  assigned  them 
was  derided  and  held  of  no  avail.  The  Indians  were  alarmed,  and  justly  indignant, 
at  these  violations  of  treaty  stipulations.  In  the  month  of  August,  1853,  the  Com 
missioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  by  direction  of  the  President,  visited  the  Indian  country 
to  confer  with  the  various  tribes  with  a  view  to  procuring  their  assent  to  a  Territorial 
government,  and  to  the  extinguishment  of  their  title  to  the  lands  owned  by  them. 
He  found  the  people  on  the  border  discussing  the  question  whether  portions  of  the 
Indian  country  were  not  then  open  to  white  settlements,  and  some  of  them  actually 
exploring  it  with  that  intention.  All  this  had  a  very  unfavorable  influence  on  the 
Indians,  who  were  apprehensive  of  being  driven  from  their  homes. 

The  commissioner  visited  some  twenty  of  these  tribes,  but  did  not  find  them  as 
prosperous  or  as  far  advanced  in  civilization  as  he  had  been  led  to  expect  He 
came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  administration  of  the  affairs  of  the  Indians  was  not 
wholly  free  from  abuses,  and  that  such  of  the  Indians  as  resided  near  Fort  Leaven- 
worth  and  the  Missouri  line  were  more  demoralized  than  those  who  lived  in  localities 
more  distant 

In  1854,  treaties  were  made  with  the  Omaha,  Otoe  and  Missouria,  Sac  and  Fox 
of  the  Missouri,  Iowa,  Kickapoo,  Delaware,  Shawnee,  Kaskaskia,  Wea,  Peoria, 
Piankeshaw,  and  Miami  Indians,  and  the  Territories  of  Kansas  and  Nebraska  were 
organized.  All  of  the  Indian  lands,  except  in  the  aggregate  about  1,300,000  acres 

413      - 


414  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

reserved  for  their  homes,  were  ceded  to  the  government.    Some  of  the  tribes  made 
these  cessions  in  trust,  the  net  proceeds  of  the  lands  when  sold  to  be  paid  to  them ; 
others  made  unconditional  cessions.     In  the  summer  of  this  year  an  association  of 
persons  seized  upon  a  piece  of  land  fronting  on  the  Missouri,  two  miles  below  Fort 
Leavenworth,  and  laid  out  thereon  a  town  called  the  city  of  Leavenworth.     This 
was  in  direct  violation  of  the  treaty  with  the  Delaware  Indians,  who  complained  to 
the  Indian  Office.     Other  parties  entered  the  Delaware  tract  and  pre-empted  claims. 
The  commissioner  requested  that  all  intruders  should  be  expelled  by  the  military 
force  at  the  fort     They,  however,  under  the  influence  of  city  lots,  denounced  the 
commissioner  and  defended  the  squatters.     The  executive  of  the  Territory,  in  disre 
gard  of  the  organic  law,  established  his  office  within  the  Shawnee  country.     The 
Territorial  Legislature  held  its  session  at  the  Shawnee  Mission,  and  embraced  some 
of  the  Indian  reserves  within  the  organized  counties.     All  appeals  in  favor  of  the 
rights  of  the  Indian  were  in  vain.     No  spot  of  land  within  the  territory  occupied  by 
an  Indian  tribe  appeared  to  be  free  from  ceaseless  intrusion.     "In  the  din  and 
strife,"  says  Commissioner  Manypenny,1  "  between  the  anti-slavery  and  pro-slavery 
parties  in  November,  1856,  in  which  the  rights  aud  interests  of  the  red  man  were 
.completely  overlooked  and  disregarded,  the  good  conduct  and  patient  submission  of 
the  latter^eontrasted  favorably  with  the  disorderly  and  lawless  conduct  of  their  white 
brethren,  who,  while  they  quarrelled  about  the  African,  united  upon  the  soil  of 
Kansas  in  wronging  the  Indian."     In  1860  and  1862,  treaties  were  made  with  the 
Delawares,  by  which  the  valuable  tract  of  224,000  acres  reserved  in  the  treaty  of 
1854  for  their  "  permanent"  home  was  conveyed  to  the  Leavenworth,  Pawnee,  and 
Western  Railroad  upon  payment  of  $287,000.     On  July  4, 1866,  still  another  treaty 
was  made  with  them,  by  which  they  agreed  to  remove  to  the  Indian  Territory,  and 
to  sell  their  remaining  land  in  Kansas  to  the  Missouri  River  Railroad  Company. 

About  1852  the  mountain  Indians  of  California  began  to  manifest  distrust 
towards  the  white  men,  and  in  December,  1855,  by  which  time  they  had  learned  to 
use  fire-arms,  the  Klamaths  and  adjacent  Indians  simultaneously  began  hostilities, 
murdering  seven  men  in  one  day.  They  were  severely  chastised  in  several  engage 
ments,  and  through  the  good  judgment  and  discretion  of  the  agent,  S.  G.  Whipple, 
peace  was  restored.  He  established  a  reservation  on  the  Klamath  River,  which  was 
kept  up  until  the  winter  of  1861-62,  when  the  improvements  were  washed  away  by 
a  severe  freshet,  and  the  Indians  were  removed  to  Smith  River.  Since  1855  the 
Klamath  Indians,  the  most  numerous  and  powerful  tribe  in  the  northwestern  portion 
of  ;the  State,  have  remained  at  peace. 

In  1856  the  Indians  on  Redwood  Creek,  Upper  Mad  River,  Grouse  Creek,  and 
the.  head-waters  of  Eel  River  began  a  war  that  resulted  in  the  loss  of  many  valuable 
lives  and  the  destruction  of  an  immense  amount  of  property.  For  want  of  concert 
between  .the  regular  troops  and  the  settlers,  nothing  was  done  towards  the  suppression 
of  hostilities  until,  in  1858,  Captain  Messic,  at  the  head  of  a  volunteer  company, 

1  "  Our  Indian  Wards." 


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INDIAN  AFFAIRS  SINCE   THE  ACQUISITION  OF  CALIFORNIA.  415 

induced  some  nine  hundred  Indians  to  come  in.  Placed  upon  the  Mendocino  Reser 
vation,  these  Indians  soon  found  their  way  back  to  their  old  homes,  more  embittered 
and  hostile  than  before.  The  peace  that  followed  their  removal  was  of  short  dura 
tion,  all  the  tribes  of  the  north  participating  in  the  renewal  of  hostilities  except  the 
Klamaths  and  the  Indians  on  Lower  Mad  and  Eel  Rivers.  Many  white  men  were 
killed,  and  the  country  was  laid  waste,  the  whites  retaliating  in  kind.  The  propo 
sition  to  exterminate  the  Indians,  though  opposed  by  the  respectable  and  influential 
citizens,  bore  fruit  on  April  3,  1859,  in  the  brutal  massacre,  on  Indian  Island,  of 
about  one  hundred  and  fifty  Indians,  principally  women  and  children.  Depredations 
and  disturbances  continued  from  1859  to  1861,  when  a  regiment  under  Colonel  Lip- 
pitt  took  the  field.  After  more  than  a  year  of  unsuccessful  and  expensive  operations, 
lie  was  relieved  by  a  battalion  under  Lieutenant-Colonel  S.  G.  Whipple.  The  Hoopa 
Indians  about  this  time  openly  joined  the  hostiles,  and  were  the  leading  spirits  in  the 
bloody  warfare  that  ensued.  All  the  settlers  in  the  mountains  were  driven  in,  and 
their  improvements  burned.  The  vast  herds  of  stock  that  ranged  on  the  grazing- 
land  back  from  the  coast  were  swept  away.  The  business  of  the  country  was 
prostrate,  and  the  people  were  in  a  state  of  great  despondency.  The  war  continued 
two  years  longer,  with  varying  results.  The  Hoopa,  Redwood,  South  Fork,  and 
Grouse  Creek  Indians  were,  however,  finally  induced  to  treat,  and  were  placed  in 
the  Hoopa  Valley,  where  they  have  ever  since  maintained  peaceful  relations  with 
the  United  States. 

On  September  10,  1853,  a  treaty  was  made  with  the  Rogue  River  Indians,  of 
Oregon,  by  the  terms  of  which  they  were  assigned  a  reservation  within  their  own 
country,  in  Southern  Oregon,  and  were  to  receive  from  the  United  States  certain 
annuities.  November  18,  1854,  a  similar  treaty  was  effected  with  the  Chasta- 
Scotons.  They  received  their  annuities  until  the  full  of  1855,  when  a  general  Indian 
war  was  inaugurated,  in  which  all  the  tribes  of  Southern  Oregon  participated, 
including  the  treaty  as  well  as  the  non-treaty  Indians. 

After  the  southern  portion  of  the  then  Territory  of  Oregon  had  become  nearly 
desolate,  the  government  adopted  the  policy  of  removing  all  the  Indians  from  their 
old  homes  in  the  South,  and  keeping  them  assembled  upon  the  coast  reservation 
(Siletz),  under  military  surveillance.  Twelve  bands  were  removed  by  military  force, 
and  the  experiment  resulted  in  the  maintenance  of  a  permanent  peace.  At  the  time 
of  their  removal,  in  1850,  they  numbered  about  five  thousand.  They  were  fierce, 
warlike,  turbulent,  and  intractable,  and  averse  to  labor.  It  was  for  several  years 
only  possible  to  retain  them  upon  their  reservations  by  issuing  to  them  full  rations 
of  food  and  considerable  quantities  of  clothing.  This  was  necessarily  so,  as  they  had 
been  deprived  of  their  arms  and  had  no  means  of  gaining  their  own  subsistence. 

The  immediate  cause  of  the  Sioux  outbreak  of  1862  *ras  the  failure  of  the  gov 
ernment  to  make  its  annual  payment  to  the  tribe,  followed  as  it  was  by  the  refusal 
of  the  traders  to  give  them  credit  at  a  time  when  they  were  in  sore  need.  The 
Indians  knew  that  the  great  civil  war  was  raging  with  doubtful  result,  depleting  the 
country  of  fighting-men,  and  were  told  by  rebel  emissaries  that  it  was  uncertain 


416  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

whether  the  full  payment  would  be  made,  and  that,  whatever  it  was,  it  would  prob 
ably  be  the  last  There  was  no  lack  of  pre-existing  causes,  such  as  were  only  too 
common  in  transactions  between  them  and  the  white  men.  Prominent  among  these 
were  the  frauds  perpetrated  upon  them  growing  out  of  the  sale  of  their  lands,  the 
non-fulfilment  of  treaty  stipulations,  and  the  attempt  then  being  made  to  pay  their 
annuity  in  goods,  instead  of  in  money,  as  agreed.  About  $400,000  of  the  cash  pay 
ment  due  the  Sioux  for  their  land  under  the  treaties  of  1851  and  1852  were  paid  to 
the  traders  on  old  indebtedness.  So  intense  was  the  indignation  of  the  Indians  at 
this  that  a  general  outbreak  was  at  that  time  seriously  apprehended.  For  the  further 
cession,  in  1858,  of  all  their  reservation  north  of  the  Minnesota  River  they  were  to 
receive  $166,000.  Not  a  penny  of  this  money  reached  them ;  but  four  years  after 
wards  goods  to  the  amount  of  $15,000  were  sent  to  the  Lower  Sioux,  and  the  value 
of  these  was  deducted  from  what  was  due  them  under  former  treaties. 

Those  who  engaged  in  the  massacre  were,  with  few  exceptions,  members  of  the 
M'dawakanton,  Wahpekuta,  and  Sisseton  tribes,  of  the  fierce  and  warlike  Sioux  or 
Dakota  nation.  They  formerly  occupied  the  northeastern  portion  of  Iowa,  part  of 
western  Wisconsin,  the  southeastern  half  of  the  State  of  Minnesota,  and  adjoining 
possessions  in  Dakota, — a  vast,  fertile,  and  beautiful  land,  abounding  in  buffalo  and 
deer,  its  countless  lakes  and  streams  filled  with  fish  and  teeming  with  wild-fowl,  and 
its  shores  alh  e  with  the  otter,  the  mink,  and  the  beaver. 

In  June,  1862,  a  number  of  chiefs  and  head-men  of  the  Sissetons  and  "Wahpetons 
visited  the  Upper  Agency  and  asked  about  the  payment  The  agent  informed  them 
that  he  would  send  them  word  when  the  money  arrived,  and  they  returned  home, 
but  on  July  14  they  came  again,  to  the  number  of  five  thousand,  and  camped. 
-They  were  afraid  they  would  not  get  their  money,  having  again  been  told  so  by  the 
whites.  Here  they  remained  for  some  time,  all  of  them  pinched  for  food,  and  several 
dying  from  starvation.  They  dug  up  roots  to  appease  their  hunger,  and,  when  corn 
was  given  them,  like  famished  animals  they  devoured  it  uncooked.  On  the  4th  of 
-August  some  of  the  young  braves,  driven  by  hunger,  broke  into  the  government 
warehouse,  but,  by  persuasion  and  the  issue  of  a  quantity  of  provisions,  the  whole 
:body.  were  induced  to  return  to  their  homes. 

The  Lower  or  Redwood  Agency  was  fourteen  miles  above  Fort  Ridgely,  on  the 
Minnesota  River.  Here  was  the  reservation  of  the  M'dawakantons  and  Wahpekutas, 
and  here  likewise  the  excitement  was  intense  for  a  month  before  the  outbreak.  A 
"  Soldiers'  Lodge,"  a  secret  organization  of  the  young  men,  designed  to  stimulate  the 
tribe  to  hostile  action,  was  formed  here  about  the  1st  of  July,  and  succeeded  at 
.length  in  exciting  the  passions  of  the  Indians  to  the  required  pitch.  Early  in  the 
morning  of  August  18,  a  party  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  Sioux,  under  Little  Crow, 
began  an  indiscriminate  massacre  of  the  whites  on  both  sides  of  the  river.  All  the 
buildings  at  the  agency  but  two  were  burned.  News  of  the  outbreak  reached  Fort 
Ridgely  before  noon,  and  Captain  Marsh,  of  the  Fifth  Minnesota  Volunteers,  started 
at  once  for  the  agency  with  forty-eight  men.  They  were  surrounded  by  the  Indians 
at  the  ferry  opposite  the  agency,  and  one-half  of  the  party  were  killed,  the  rest 


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INDIAN  AFFAIRS  SINCE   THE  ACQUISITION  OF  CALIFORNIA.  417 

escaping  by  flight.     Messengers  were  sent  to  the  Upper  Indians  at  Little  Medicine 
River,  and  to  all  the  others,  many  of  -whom  soon  joined  their  brethren  in  the  work 
of  massacre  and  terror.     That  night  a  friendly  Indian  notified  the  people  at  Hazle- 
wood,  the  Mission  Station,  six  miles  above  the  Upper  Agency,  of  the  danger,  and 
forty-two  persons,  including  the  missionaries  Riggs  and  Williamson,  made  their 
escape,  having  almost  miraculously  passed  through  the  numerous  scattered  bands 
of  Indians  on  their  route.     On  the  very  day  of  the  outbreak,  $72,000  for  the  pay 
ment  of  the  Indians  had  reached  Fort  Ridgely.    This  fort  and  New  Ulm,  a  German 
settlement,  almost  within  a  stone's  throw  of  the  reservation,  were  that  night  filled 
with  terror-stricken  fugitives,  many  of  whom  were  bleeding  from  ghastly  wounds. 

For  nearly  three  weeks  the  Indians  were  masters  of  the  situation,  meeting  with, 
no  effectual  resistance,  so  many  of  the  able-bodied  of  the  inhabitants  being  absent  in 
the  Union  array.     Their  depredations  extended  along  the  whole  western  frontier  of 
Minnesota,  and  into  Iowa  and  Dakota.    They  were  repulsed  from  Forts  Ridgely  and 
Abercrombie,  and  from  the  towns  of  New  Ulm  and  Hutchinson.     In  two  weeks 
fifteen  or  twenty  of  the  frontier  counties  were  almost  depopulated.     From  Fort 
Abercrombie  to  the  Iowa  line,  a  frontage  of  two  hundred  miles,  and  extending  from 
Big  Stone  Lake  to  Forest  City,  an  area  of  over  twenty  thousand  square  miles,  the 
torch  and  the  tomahawk  asserted  themselves  supreme.     More  than  six  hundred  vic 
tims  had  fallen,  and  two  hundred  persons,  mostly  women  and  children,  had  been 
carried  into  captivity. 

By  the  last  of  August  some  fourteen  hundred  men  had  been  collected  at  Fort 
Ridgely,  under  Colonel  H.  H.  Sibley.  A  force  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  men,  under 
Colonel  Joseph  R.  Brown,  was  at  once  sent  up  to  the  Lower  Agency  as  a  burial- 
party.  After  performing  this  sad  service,  no  signs  of  Indians  being  visible,  they 
encamped  for  the  night.  At  dawn  next  day  their  camp  at  Birch  Coolie  was  at 
tacked,  and,  as  it  was  in  an  exceedingly  exposed  situation,  the  men  fought  at  a  great 
disadvantage.  In  three  hours  nearly  one-half  the  force  was  hors  du  combat.  When 
relieved  by  Colonel  Sibley  they  had  been  thirty-one  hours  without  food  or  water. 
Twenty-three  were  killed  or  mortally  wounded ;  Major  Brown,  Captain  Anderson, 
and  forty-five  of  the  men  were  wounded  severely. 

Late  in  September  the  troops  moved  up  the  Minnesota  Valley,  and  on  the  23d 
fought  the  battle  of  Wood  Lake,  by  which  Little  Crow's  force  was  put  to  rout  and 
the  contest  ended.  The  camp  was  attacked  by  eight  hundred  Indians  early  in 
the  morning.  After  a  severe  action  of  an  hour  and  a  half,  a  charge  was  made, 
headed  by  Lieutenant-Colonel  Marshall,  of  the  Seventh  Minnesota,  and  the  Indians 
fled  in  all  directions.  Little  Crow,  Little  Six,  and  their  followers  escaped  northward 
to  the  British  possessions.  The  Indian  camp,  left  in  charge  of  the  friendly  Indians, 
fell,  with  all  its  plunder,  into  the  hands  of  the  victors,  and  the  white  captives,  two 
hundred  in  number,  regained  their  liberty.  That  their  lives  had  been  spared  was 
lue  chiefly  to  the  heroic  exertions  of  Paul,  a  friendly  Indian  belonging  to  the  Upper 
"ribe,  and  to  a  feud  between  the  Upper  and  Lower  Indians,  occasioned  by  the  neglect 
-f  the  latter  to  notify  their  brethren  of  their  hostile  intentions  before  the  outbreak, 

H—63 


418  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

and  afterwards  by  their  refusal  to  give  them  a  share  of  the  plunder.  The  final  catas 
trophe  at  Wood  Lake  may  also  be  attributed  to  the  fact  that  the  Upper  Indians 
withheld  their  support  and  openly  condemned  the  hasty  acts  of  Little  Crow's  band. 
Only  forty-two  Indians  were  known  to  have  fallen  during  the  entire  contest. 
A  large  number  were  subsequently  captured  and  tried  by  a  military  commission. 
Over  four  hundred  were  tried,  of  whom  three  hundred  and  three  were  sentenced  to 
death  and  eighteen  to  imprisonment  Most  of  those  acquitted  were  Upper  Indians. 
Thirty-eight  of  those  condemned  were  hung  at  Mankato  on  February  26, 1863.  The' 
remainder  were  released  in  April,  1866.  Tah-o-ah-doo-ta,  or  Little  Crow,  determined 
to  end  his  days  in  the  land  of  his  fathers,  made  his  way  back  to  Minnesota  with  a 
few  followers-  in  the  ensuing  spring,  who  renewed  their  depredations.  The  chief, 
while  engaged  in  picking  berries  with  his  son,  six  miles  north  of  Hutchinsori,  was 
discovered  by  two  white  men,  and  shot  Thus  perished  one  of  the  foremost  hunters 
and  orators  of  the  Sioux.  He  had  been  forced  into  the  war  against  his  own  better 
judgment,  yet  did  not  shrink  from  the  responsibility,  and  died  like  a  brave  and  a 
warrior  of  the  Dakotas. 

On  July  20,  1863,  an  expeditionary  force,  under  General  Sibley,  left  the  vicinity 
of  Devil's  Lake  to  chastise  the  hostile  Sioux.  In  three  successive  encounters,  with 
some  two  thousand  warriors,  mostly  Tetons  and  Yanktonnais,  he  drove  them  across 
the  Missouri  River,  forcing  them  to  abandon  all  their  provisions,  vehicles,  and  skins 
designed  for  clothing.  The  point  on  the  river  reached  by  General  Sibley  was  in 
latitude  46°  42*,  longitude  100°  35',  about  forty  miles  below  Fort  Clarke,  and  five 
hundred  and  eighty-five  miles  from  Fort  Snelling.  The  object  of  the  expedition 
was  accomplished,  and  at  a  trifling  sacrifice  of  life. 

At  the  commencement  of  the  war  of  the  rebellion  the  Cherokees  numbered  about 
22,000.  Of  these,  some  8500,  influenced  by  rebel  emissaries,  joined  the  Confederates 
and  went  South,  leaving  their  wives  and  children  in  most  cases  behind  them.  Many 
of  the  remainder  of  the  tribe  were  disloyal.  These,  under  the  lead  of  their  chief, 
John  Ross,  assumed  a  quasi-neutrality.  Soon,  however,  this  disguise  was  thrown  off, 
and  two  regiments  were  raised  who  joined  the  rebel  army.  Of  those  who  refused  to 
pursue  this  course,  some  joined  the  Union  army,  some  removed  to  a  more  secure 
place  of  residence,  and  others  joined  Opotheholo,  a  loyal  Creek,  who  had  crossed  the 
Arkansas  with  a  part  of  his  people.  The  latter,  after  gaining  a  victory  over  a 
pursuing  rebel  force,  was  in  a  second  engagement  defeated  with  great  loss,  and  with 
his  remaining  followers  fled  to  Kansas,  suffering  severely  from  hunger  and  cold  by 
the  way.  The  victors  plundered  the  loyal  Indians,  burned  their  houses,  barns,  and 
fences,  and  destroyed  everything  they  could  not  take  away  with  them.  The  loyalists 
fled  to  the  mountains,  where  many  died  from  exposure.  In  the  spring  of  1863  large 
numbers  were  carried  off  by  the  smallpox. 

Most  of  the  Cherokees  who  remained  or  who  had  returned  from  the  South 
entered  the  Union  army  as~a  "  Home  Guard."  In  April,  1863,  three  Indian  regi 
ments  were  stationed  with  others  at  Fort  Gibson  to  protect  the  property  and  persons 
of  the  Cherokee  people.  This  "  protection""extended  as  far  as  the  guns  of  the 


INDIAN  AFFAIRS  SINCE  THE  ACQUISITION  OF  CALIFORNIA.          419 

fort  would  reach,  and  no  farther.  "When  a  bushwhacking  party  raided  across  the 
Arkansas  into  the  Cherokee  country,  all  the  Indians  that  were  out  were  called  in  to 
protect  Fort  Gibson.  They  knew  the  fort  was  in  no  danger,  but  their  families  were. 
Thus  against  their  will  they  were  tied  hand  and  foot  in  the  fort  while  their  families 
were  insulted,  outraged,  plundered,  and  sometimes  murdered  or  carried  into  captivity. 
The  close  of  the  war  left  them  destitute  of  everything  except  the  insufficient  supply 
of  clothing,  blankets,  and  provisions  furnished  by  the  government  It  is  estimated 
that  the  tribe  during  its  continuance  diminished  at  least  2500.  In  the  matter  of 
civilization,  in  which  the  tribe  had  made  especial  progress,  the  four  years  of  war 
produced  much  retrogression.  Vice  and  immorality  had  made  rapid  strides. 

Two-fifths  of  the  Cherokees,  more  than  half  of  the  Creeks,  Seniinoles,  and 
Uchees,  and  nine-tenths  of  the  Choctaws  and  Chickasaws  joined  the  South  in  the 
rebellion. 


•    '  >•     '•:••      :         •    -      • 

CHAPTER   II. 

v  ; 

OPERATIONS   AGAINST   THE    INDIANS  OF  NEW  MEXICO  AND  ARIZONA  IN  1863- 
•    .63-64,  IN  1869-72,  AND  IN  1880— MASSACRE  OF  FRIENDLY  APACHES  AT  CAMP 
GRANT— COMANCHES  DEFEATED  BY  COLONEL  MACKENZIE— VICTORIA'S  BAND 
OF  APACHES  DESTROYED. 

WHEW  the  Territory  of  New  Mexico  was  acquired  by  the  United  States,  in  1848, 
its  Indian  population  was  composed  of  the  Pueblo,  Navajoe,  Comanche,  and  Apache 
tribes.  The  Pueblos  lived  in  villages :  their  form  of  government  was  democratic, 
and  they  had  churches  and  schools.  The  Navajoes,  whose  customs  in  some  respects 
resembled  those  of  the  Pueblos,  and  who,  like  them,  were  partly  civilized,  relied  for 
support  chiefly  on  their  flocks  and  herds,  and  on  the  manufacture  of  blankets,  in 
which  they  excelled.  The  Apaches  subsisted  chiefly  by  the  chase,  and  on  the  mezcal 
which  they  stored  up  for  winter  use.  Frequent  collisions  took  place  between  these 
Indians  and  the  Mexicans,  the  consequence  of  thieving  raids  on  the  one  hand  and 
retaliatory  expeditions  on  the  other.  Troubles  between  the  Comanches  and  Apaches 
and  citizens  of  the  United  States  were  rife  in  1854  and  1855,  and  they  increased 
with  the  influx  of  prospectors  and  miners.  Several  military  expeditions  were  sent 
into  the  country  to  punish  the  savages  for  not  submitting  to  wrong  and  injustice. 
In  one  of  these,  Major  Van  Dorn  attacked  a  large  body  of  Comanches  near  the 
Washita  Village,  October  1,  1858,  and  killed  fifty-six  of  them.  He  again  struck 
them  successfully  on  May  13,  1859,  in  the  valley  of  the  Nescatunga. 

Finally  the  rebellion  came,  and  Texan  troops  invaded  the  Territory.  General 
James  H.  Carleton  took  command  of  the  Department  of  New  Mexico  in  1862,  and, 
the  Navajoes,  Kiowas,  Mescalero  Apaches,  and  Comanches  having  committed  depre 
dations,  that  officer  immediately  began  to  discipline  those  Indians.  His  subordinates 
were  instructed  that  no  councils  or  "  talks"  were  to  be  held  with  them,  and  that 
"the  men  were  to  be  slain  wherever  found."  An  important  part  of  his  savage 
programme  seems  to  have  been  to  secure  the  development  of  the  rich  mines  of  the 
Upper  Gila,  and  to  do  this  successfully  the  Indians  were  to  be  exterminated.  His 
field  of  operations  was  extended  in  1864  to  include  the  Indians  in  portions  of  Arizona 
and  Colorado.  The  renowned  Colonel  "  Kit"  Carson,  of  the  First  New  Mexican 
Volunteers,  took  the  field  against  the  Navajoes  with  success.  The  troops  were  in 
constant  service,  and  -were  engaged  in  frequent  conflicts.  Many  of  the  Indians  were, 
despite  the  sanguinary  orders  of  the  general,  captured,  and  many  surrendered  and 
were  placed  on  a  government  reservation  at  the  Bosque  Redondo,  upon  the  open 
plains  east  of  the  Rio  Grande.  Here  they  were  kept  for  several  years. 

Colonel  Carson's  operations  against  the  Kiowas,  Comanches,  and  Apaches  were 
420 


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INDIAN  AFFAIRS  SINCE  THE  ACQUISITION  OF  CALIFORNIA.  421 

less  successful,  owing  to  the  greater  difficulty  of  reaching  them  and  bringing  them  to 
action.  On  November  25,  1864,  he  attacked  a  Kiowa  village  of  about  one  hundred 
and  fifty  lodges  on  the  Canadian  River,  Texas,  and  after  a  severe  engagement  com 
pelled  them  to  retreat,  with  a  loss  of  sixty  killed  and  wounded.  Their  village  was 
then  destroyed. 

The  result  of  military  operations  in  Arizona  in  1869  is  thus  stated  by  General 
Ord,  the  commander  of  that  department.  He  says  in  his  report,  "  I  have  encouraged 
the  troops  to  capture  and  root  out  the  Apaches  by  every  means  in  my  power,  and  to 
hunt  them  as  they  would  wild  animals.  This  they  have  done  with  unrelenting  vigor. 
Since  my  last  report  over  two  hundred  have  been  killed,  generally  by  parties  who 
have  trailed  them  for  days  and  weeks  into  mountain-recesses,  over  snows,  among 
gorges  and  precipices,  lying  in  wait  for  them  by  day  and  following  them  by  night. 
Many  villages  have  been  burned,  large  quantities  of  supplies  and  arms  and  ammu 
nition,  clothing,  and  provisions  have  been  destroyed.  A  large  number  of  horses  and 
mules  have  been  captured,  and  two  men  (?),  twenty-eight  women,  and  thirty-four 
children  taken  prisoners.  .  .  .  The  Apaches  have  few  friends,  and,  I  believe,  no 
agent.  Even  the  officers,  when  applied  to  by  them  for  information,  cannot  tell  them 
what  to  do.  There  seems  to  be  no  settled  policy  but  a  general  idea  to  kill  them 
wherever  found." 

This  humiliating  record  of  barbarity  and  outrage  lacks  the  finishing  touch, 
which  is  supplied  by  the  story  of  the  massacre  at  Camp  Grant,  in  Arizona,  in  1871, 
of  a  friendly  band  of  Apaches  by  citizens  of  Tucson,  aided  by  Mexicans.  The 
hostile  bands  of  Cochise  and  others  had  committed  outrages  upon  the  inhabitants  of 
the  Territory,  and  upon  travellers  passing  through.  Much  fault  was  found  with 
General  Stoneman,  the  department  commander,  for  his  failure  properly  to  protect 
the  citizens.  In  June,  General  Crook  took  command,  and  proceeded  to  enlist 
friendly  Indians  to  operate  against  the  hostiles,  securing  the  aid  of  a  prominent  chief 
named  Miguel.  This  plan  he  was  forbidden  to  put  in  execution  by  Mr.  Vincent 
Collyer,  one  of  the  Indian  Peace  Commissioners.  In  February,  1871,  a  young 
Apache  chief,  with  some  of  his  band,  came  to  Camp  Grunt  and  stated  that  they 
desired  peace, — that  he  and  his  people  had  no  home,-  and  could  make  none,  being  in 
constant  fear  of  the  troops.  Lieutenant  Whitman,  then  in  command,  told  him  to 
bring  in  his  band,  and  he  would  aid  them.  Other  small  bands  also  came  in,  so  that 
early  in  April  some  five  hundred  Indians  were  encamped  near  the  post,  awaiting  the- 
action  of  the  department  commander.  They  were  fed,  and,  being  very  poor  and 
nearly  naked,  were  encouraged  by  Lieutenant  Whitman  to  cut  and  bring  in  hay  for 
his  post,  and  in  about  two  months  had  brought  in  about  three  hundred  thousand 
pounds,  carrying  it  on  their  backs.  Additional  bands,  with  -whom  these  had  inter 
married,  were  preparing  to  come  in  also. 

Lieutenant  Whitman  became  much  interested  in  these  Indians,  and  said  officially, 
"  I  had  come  to  feel  respect  for  men  who,  ignorant  and  naked,  were  still  ashamed  to 
lie  Or  steal,  and  for  women  who  would  work  like  slaves  to  clothe  themselves  and 
children,  but,  untaught,  held  their  virtue  above  price.  .  .  .  They  frequently  ex- 


422  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

pressed  anxiety  to  hear  from  the  general,  that  they  might  have  confidence  to  bufld 
for  themselves  hetter  houses,  but  would  always  say, '  You  know  what  we  want,  and, 
if  you  cannot  see  him,  you  can  write.' " 

Such  was  the  situation,  when,  at  daybreak  of  April  29,  their  camp  was  surrounded 
and  attacked  by  a  large  body  of  men  from  Tucson.  So  sudden  and  unexpected  was 
the  onslaught  that  no  one  was  awake  to  give  the  alarm,  and  quite  a  number  of  the 
women  were  shot  while  asleep  beside  their  bundles  of  hay,  which  they  had  collected 
to  bring  in  on  that  morning.  The  women  who  were  unable  to  get  away  had  their 
brains  beaten  out  with  clubs  or  stones.  Of  the  whole  number  killed  and  missing — 
about  one  hundred  and  twenty-five — eight  only  were  men.  Those  who  escaped  the 
massacre  came  into  Camp  Grant  singly  and  in  small  parties  so  changed  as  hardly 
to  be  recognized,  having  neither  eaten  nor  slept  for  forty-eight  hours.  Lieutenant 
Whitman's  denunciation  of  this  murderous  and  cowardly  act,  and  of  those  engaged 
in  it,  had  no  other  effect  than  to  cause  his  being  relieved  from  duty  at  Camp  Grant, 
where  the  Indians,  who  knew  him  to  be  their  friend,  had  expressed  an  earnest  desire 
that  he  might  be  retained. 

A  successful  expedition  under  Colonel  R.  S.  Mackenzie,  Fourth  United  States 
Cavalry,  against  hostile  Indians  raiding  into  Texas,  struck,  on  September  29,  1872, 
a  camp  of  Qua-ha-du  Comanches  on  McClellan's  Creek, — that  of  Maowi,  the  most 
disaffected  and  dangerous  of  all  the  "  out"  Comanches, — and,  after  a  brisk  fight, 
carried  their  village,  killing  twenty-three  Indians  and  taking  one  hundred  and 
twenty-four  prisoners,  principally  women  and  children.  The  command  lost  two 
killed  and  two  wounded.  This  blow  was  promptly  followed  by  the  surrender  of  the 
white  captives  remaining  in  their  hands,  and  by  a  large  increase  in  number  of  the 
Indians  on  the  reservation. 

The  Southern  Apaches,  especially  Victoria's  band,  had  long  been  troublesome, 
but  in  1879  that  chief  had,  with  his  people,  come  in  to  the  Mescalero  Agency, 
expressing  a  desire  to  remain  there  permanently.  The  cause  of  his  hostility  was  the 
abolition  of  the  Ojo  Caliente  Reservation,  known  as  the  Southern  Apache  Agency, 
and  the  attempted  removal  of  his  band  to  the  San  Carlos  Agency,  with  some  of 
whose  tribes  they  were  not  on  friendly  terms.  Very  soon  thereafter,  however,  he 
had  left,  and  was  marauding  and  murdering  citizens  ten  miles  distant  from  the  reser 
vation.  Some  of  his  band  were,  during  the  winter  and  spring  of  1880,  in  the 
mountains,  within  forty  miles  of  the  agency,  in  constant  intercourse  with  the  Indians 
of  the  reservation,  and  successful  in  evading  the  military.  Nearly  two  hundred  and 
fifty  of  the  worst  Indians  of  the  agency  joined  him.  It  was  found  necessary  in  Jan 
uary,  1880,  soon  after  active  military  operations  were  begun  against  this  band,  to  cut 
off  all  communication  between  Victoria  and  the  Mescaleros  on  the  reservation,  and 
also  to  disarm  and  dismount  the  latter.  The  remarkable  success  of  Victoria  and  his 
followers  in  skirmishes  with  the  soldiers  during  the  year  1880,  as  well  as  in  evading 
pursuit,  sufficiently  attests  the  skill  and  prowess  of  that  chief.  Driven  at  last  into 
Mexico  by  our  forces,  Victoria  and  nearly  all  his  followers  were  attacked  and 
destroyed  by  a  body  of  Mexican  troops  under  General  Terrasas. 


• 

CHAPTER    III. 

• 

HOSTILITIES  WITH  THE  CHEYENNES,  ARAPAHOES,  AND  SIOUX— SAND  CREEK 
MASSACRE— POWDER  RIVER  WAR— MASSACRE  OF  COLONEL  FETTERMAN'S 
COMMAND— HANCOCK'S  EXPEDITION— POWELL'S  ENGAGEMENT. 

WITH  the  accession  of  territory  to  the  United  States  at  the  close  of  the  Mexican 
war,  our  Indian  population,  the  greater  part  of  which  was  wholly  uncivilized,  was 
largely  increased.     The  discovery  of  gold  in  our  new  possessions  induced  an  immense 
emigration  to  California  across  the  plains.    The  rights  of  the  Indians  were  over 
looked  or  disregarded,  and  complications  and  wars  ensued.     By  a  treaty  at  Fort 
Laramie,  September  17,  1851,  with  the  Sioux,  Cheyennes,  Arapahoes,  Crows,  and 
others,  the  boundaries  of  these  tribes  were  settled,  and  they  agreed  to  abstain  from 
hostilities  with  one  another,  and  to  permit  the  United  States  to  establish  roads  and 
riilitary  posts  within  their  limits,  the  United  States  agreeing  to  protect  them  from 
white  depredations  and  to  pay  them  annually  for  fifty  years  the  sum  of  $50,000. 
This  was  the  price  of  the  "  right  of  way."     The  Senate  amended  the  treaty,  and 
limited  the  annuity  to  fifteen  years.     The  bad  faith  as  well  as  .the  unwisdom  of  this 
step  soon  became  apparent.    Peace  was  broken  in  August,  1854,  when  an  officer  with 
a  file  of  soldiers,  in  attempting  to  arrest  an  Indian  belonging  to  a  band  of  Brute*  Sioux 
near  Fort  Laramie,  was  killed  with  all  his  men.     Then  followed  General  Harney's 
Sioux  expedition,  the  crowning  act  of  which  took  place  September  22, 1855,  in  North 
western  Nebraska  or  Northeastern  Wyoming,  and  was  styled  by  him  the  "  Battle  of 
the  Blue  Water."     At  this  point  a  band  of  Bruld  Sioux,  of  which  Little  Thunder 
was  the  principal  chief,  was  encamped,  with  his  braves,  women,  and  children.    They  , 
were  not  a  war-party,  and  had  nothing  to  do  with  the  affair  at  Fort  Laramie.     It 
was  a  peaceful   and   unoffending  Indian  village   that  General  Harney  surprised 
early  in  the  morning,  killing  eighty-six  men,  women,  and  children,  and  capturing 
seventy  women  and  children.    This  is  only  one  of  many  cases  in  which  our  troops 
have  struck  the  Indians,  not  caring  to  know  whether  they  were  guilty  or  innocent. 
Serious  trouble  grew  out  of  this  campaign,  resulting  in  the  loss  of  many  lives  of 
white  people.     On  July  29,  1857,  Colonel  E.  V.  Sumner  defeated  three  hundred 
Cheyennes  on  Solomon's  Fork  of  the  Kansas  River,  burnt  their  village  to  the 
ground,  and  destroyed  their  winter  supplies. 

The  boundaries  assigned  to  the  Cheyennes  and  Arapahoes  by  the  Fort  Laramie 
treaty  included  a  large  part  of  the  Territory  of  Colorado  and  Western  Kansas. 
Some  years  later,  gold  and  silver  were  discovered  in  the  mountains  of  Colorado,  their 
lands  were  occupied  by  miners,  who  founded  cities,  established  farms,  and  opened 
roads,  and  before  1861  they  had  been  driven  down  upon  the  waters  of  the  Arkansas, 

423 


424  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

and  were  sullen  and  discontented  because  of  these  violations  of  their  rights.  The 
third  article  of  the  treaty. of  1851  bound  the  United  States  to  protect  the  Indians 
against  all  depredations  after  its  ratification.  This  treaty  was  broken,  but  not  by  the 
savages.  It  became  apparent  to  them  that  nothing  was  left  for  them  to  do  but  to 
ratify  a  treaty  confirming  the  act. 

This  was  done  February  18,  1861,  at  Fort  Wise,  Kansas.  The  tribes  ceded  what 
now  constitutes  two  great  States  of  the  Union,  retaining  ouly  a  small  reservation  on 
the  Arkansas  River  and  including  the  country  around  Fort  Lyon.  "  Not  being 
able,"  say  the  Peace  Commissioners  in  their  report,  "  to  protect  them  in  the  larger 
reservation,  the  natiori~"re-resolved  that  it  would  protect  them  in  the  quiet  and 
peaceable  possession  of  the  smaller  tract"  Thirty  thousand  dollars  per  annum  was 
to  be  paid  them  for  fifteen  years,  houses  were,  to  be  built,  lands  were  to  be  broken  up 
and  fenced,  stock,  animals,  and  agricultural  implements  were  to  be  provided,  mills 
were  to  be  built,  and  engineers,  farmers,  and  mechanics  were  to  be  sent  among  them. 

From  this  time  until  the  12th  of  April,  1864,  notwithstanding  the  non-fulfilment 
of  these  promises  and  their  natural  dissatisfaction  thereat,  the  Indians  remained 
peaceful.  On  that  day,  Lieutenant  Dunn,  with  forty  men  from  Camp  Sanborn, 
undertook  to  disarm  some  Indians  who,  it  was  said,  had  stolen  some  stock  claimed  by 
a  man  named  Ripley.  The  Indians  resisted,  and  Dunn  withdrew  discomfited. 
In  May  following,  Major  Downing,  of  the  First  Colorado  Cavalry,  moved  against  the 
Indians,  and  surprised  at  daylight  the  Cheyenne  village  of  Cedar  Bluffs,  in  a  small 
cafion,  about  sixty  miles  north  of  the  South  Platte  River.  Twenty-six  were  killed, 
and  thirty  wounded.  No  prisoners  were  taken.  Their  lodges  and  other  property 
were  all  destroyed.  About  the  same  time,  Lieutenant  Ayres,  of  the  Colorado  troops, 
had  a  difficulty  in  which  an  Indian  chief,  under  a  flag  of  truce,  was  murdered. 
During  the  summer  and  fall  occurrences  of  this  character  were  frequent 

Black  Kettle  and  other  prominent  chiefs  of  the  Cheyennes  and  Arapahoes  sent 
word  to  the  commander  at  Fort  Lyon  that  the  war  had  been  forced  upon  them,  and 
that  they  desired  peace.  They  were  then  on  their  own  reservation.  Major  Wynkoop, 
the  commander  at  Fort  Lyon,  proceeded  with  them  to  Denver,  and  held  an  inter 
view  with  the  governor,  vho  wished  to  have  nothing  to  do  with  them,  not  believing 
it  to  be  policy  to  make  peace  with  them  "until  they  were  properly  punished." 
Wynkoop  then  ordered  the  Indians  to  move  their  villages  nearer  to  the  fort  and 
bring  their  women  and  children,  which  was  done.  In  November  this  officer  was 
removed,  and  Major  Anthony,  of  the  First  Colorado  Cavalry,  took  command,  as 
suring  the  Indians  of  safety.  They  numbered  about  five  hundred  men,  women,  and 
children.  Here,  while  under  the  pledge  of  protection,  they  were  slaughtered  by  the 
Third  Colorado  and  a  battalion  of  the  First  Colorado  Cavalry,  under  Colonel  Chiv- 
ington.  He  marched  from  Denver  to  Fort  Lyon,  and  about  daylight  in  the  morning 
of  November  29  surrounded  the  Indian  camp  and  commenced  an  indiscriminate 
slaughter.  This  massacre  is  scarcely  paralleled  in  the  records  of  Indian  barbarity. 
Fleeing  women,  holding  up  their  hands  and  praying  for  mercy,  were  brutally  shot 
down,  infants  were  killed  and  scalped,  and  men  were  tortured  and  mutilated  in  a 


INDIAN  AFFAIRS  SINCE  THE  ACQUISITION  OF  CALIFORNIA.  425 

manner  that  would  put  to  shame  the  utmost  ingenuity  of  the  savage.  This  atrocious 
affair  is  known  as  the  Sand  Creek  massacre.  No  one  will  be  astonished  that  a  war 
ensued  which  cost  the  government  thirty  millions  of  dollars  and  carried  conflagration 
and  distress  to  the  border  settlements.  During  the  year  1865  not  less  than  eight 
thousand  troops  were  obliged  to  be  withdrawn  from  the  forces  engaged  in  suppress 
ing  the  rebellion  to  take  part  in  this  Indian  war.  The  results  of  the  year's  campaign 
satisfied  all  sensible  men  that  war  with  Indians  was  both  useless  and  expensive. 
Fifteen  or  twenty  Indians  had  been  killed,  at  a  cost  of  more  than  a  million  dollars 
apiece,  while  hundreds  of  our  soldiers  had  lost  their  lives,  many  of  our  border  set 
tlers  had  been  butchered,  and  much  property  had  been  destroyed.  This  war  was 
something  more  than  useless  and  expensive :  it  was  dishonorable  to  the  nation,  and 
rendered  its  originators  justly  infamous. 

When  the  utter  futility  of  conquering  a  peace  was  made  manifest  to  every  one, 
peaceful  agencies  were  employed.  Generals  Sanborn,  Harney,  and  others  were 
selected  as  commissioners  to  hold  a  council  with  the  hostile  tribes,  which  they  suc 
ceeded  in  doing  in  October,  1865,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Little  Arkansas,  with  the 
Kiowas,  Cheyennes,  Aiapahoes,  Comanches,  and  Apaches.  Agreements  were  soon 
made,  and  no  sooner  were  treaties  signed  than  the  war,  which  had  been  waged  for 
nearly  two  years,  ceased.  Travel  on  the  plains  was  again  secure.  What  eight 
thousand  troops  had  failed  to  secure,  this  simple  agreement,  rendered  nugatory  by 
the  Senate,  and  requiring  nothing  but  a  pledge  of  friendship,  obtained.  During 
the  remainder  of  the  year  1866  comparative  peace  prevailed. 

In  March,  1865,  a  joint  special  committee  of  both  houses  of  Congress,  of  which 
Senator  Doolittle  was  chairman,  was  appointed  to  inquire  into  the  condition  of  the 
Indian  tribes,  and  especially  as  to  the  manner  in  which  they  had  been  treated  by 
the  military  and  civil  authorities  of  the  United  States.  On  January  26,  1867,  this 
committee  reported  that  everywhere  except  in  the  Indian  Territory  the  tribes  were 
rapidly  decreasing  in  number  through  disease,  intemperance,  wars  among  themselves 
and  with  the  whites,  the  steady  and  resistless  tide  of  white  emigration,  which,  con 
fining  the  Indians  to  still  narrower  limits,  destroys  their  game,  and  the  irrepressible 
conflict  between  a  superior  and  an  inferior  race.  The  committee  found  that  a  large 
majority  of  our  Indian  wars  were  traceable  to  the  aggressions  of  lawless  whites  upon 
our  borders.  This  was  the  testimony  of  old  frontiersmen  like  Colonel  Bent  and 
Colonel  Carson,  whose  lives  had  been  spent  upon  the  plains  and  in  intercourse  with 
the  natives. 

In  1866  the  Sioux  Indians  were  disturbed  by  the  emigration  over  the  Powder 
River  route  to  the  gold-fields  of  Montana.  This  was  Sioux  territory,  and  their 
especial  buffalo-range,  and  therefore  indispensable  to  them.  The  treaty  of  1851, 
granting  them  an  annuity  for  fifty  years,  had  without  their  consent  been  amended  to 
fifteen  years.  This  period  had  expired,  and  they  claimed  that  the  grant  to  the 
United  States  for  the  location  of  roads  and  establishment  of  posts  had  ceased  also. 
In  March,  1866,  General  Pope,  in  command  of  the  Department  of  the  Missouri, 
ordered  the  establishment  of  military  posts  on  that  route.  When,  in  the  summer, 

II— 54 


426  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

troops  were  placed  in  the  newly-erected  Forts  Phil  Kearney,  C.  F.  Smith,  and 
Reno,  the  Indians  notified  the  government  that  the  occupation  of  the  country  by 
troops  would  be  resisted ;  but  the  warning  was  disregarded.  A  treaty  was  tried. 
Some  of  the  Indians  voluntarily  signed  it,  but  Red  Cloud  retired  from  the  council, 
and,  placing  his  hand  upon  his  rifle,  said,  "  In  this  and  in  the  Great  Spirit  I  trust 
for  the  right"  Soon  war  broke  out  Emigrant  travel  ceased,  the  forts  were  besieged, 
and  the  country  was  overrun  with  Indians.  On  the  21st  of  December  a  wood-party 
;  from  Fort  Phil  Kearney  was  attacked,  and  Colonel  W.  J.  Fetterman  went  out  to  its 
relief.  In  the  fight  that  ensued,  every  man  of  the  force  was  killed.  The  costly 
effort  to  keep  open  this  route  continued  until  the  spring  of  1868,  when,  by  a 
treaty  with  the  Sioux,  the  posts  were  abandoned,  and  the  Powder  River  route  to  • 
Montana  was  closed. 

In  April,  1867,  an  expedition  under  General  Hancock,  commander  of  the  depart 
ment,  left  Fort  Larned  with  the  object  of  showing  the  Indians  that  he  was  "  able  to 
chastise  any  tribes  who  may  molest  people  travelling  across  the  plains."  He  pro 
ceeded  up  the  Pawnee  Fork  of  the  Arkansas  in  the  direction  of  a  village  of  one 
thousand  or  fifteen  hundred  Cheyennes  and  Sioux.  When  near  their  camp,  the 
chiefs  visited  him,  as  they  had  already  done  at  Fort  Larned,  and  requested  him  not 
to  approach  the  camp  with  his  troops,  as  otherwise  the  women  and  children,  having 
the  remembrance  of  Sand  Creek,  would  abandon  the  village.  On  the  14th  he 
resumed  his  march,  and  when  about  ten  miles  from  their  village  he  was  again  met 
*.  by  the  head-men,  who  stated  that  they  would  treat  with  him  there  or  elsewhere,  but 
that  they  could  not,  as  requested  by  him,  keep  their  women  and  children  in  camp 
if  he  approached  with  soldiers.  He  informed  them  that  he  would  march  to  within 
a  mile  of  their  village,  and  treat  with  them  that  evening.  As  he  proceeded,  the 
women  fled.  The  chiefs  and  part  of  the  young  men  remained.  Orders  were  then 
given  to  surround  the  village  and  capture  the  Indians  remaining.  The  order  was 
obeyed,  but  the  chiefs  and  warriors  had  departed.  The  fleeing  Indians,  hotly  pur 
sued  by  General  Custer  and  his  cavalry,  destroyed  a  station  at  Smoky  Hill,  and 
killed  several  men.  When  the  news  reached  Hancock,  he  at  once  burned  the  Indian 

•  village  of  three  hundred  lodges,  together  with  the  entire  property  of  the  tribe. 

The  Indians — all  on  the  plains — now  became  outlaws,  and,  exasperated  by  the 
destruction  of  their  village,  waged  a  determined  war.     Many  soldiers  and  settlers 
"  were  killed,  valuable  trains  were  captured,  stations  were  destroyed,  and  operations 
on  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  were  seriously  retarded.     Engineers  engaged  in  sur 
veying  the  route,  and  workmen  employed  upon  the  road,  were  frequently  waylaid 

*  and  murdered,  and  stock  and  building-materials  were  destroyed  and  carried  away. 
Overland  immigration  and  traffic  were  interrupted,  and  attended  with  great  danger. 
Early  in  August  a  freight-train  in  Nebraska  was  thrown  off  the  track  near  Plum 
Creek  Station,  and  all  thf  employees  save  one  were  murdered,  and  the  cars  and  mer 
chandise  burned.     General  Augur  promptly  sent  troops  to  the  scene  of  the  disaster. 
On  the  16th  of  August  he  had  a  battle  with  five  hundred  Sioux,  sixty  of  whom 
were  killed.    Our  troops  were  aided  by  a  band  of  friendly  Pawnees.    The  most 


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INDIAN  AFFAIRS  SINCE  THE  ACQUISITION.  OF  CALIFORNIA.          427 

important  engagement  in  the  region  of  the  Powder  and  Yellowstone  Rivers  took 
place  August  2,  near  Fort  Phil  Kearney.  A  party  of  woodcutters,  with  an  escort 
of  forty  soldiers,  under  Captain  James  Powell,  and  about  fifty  citizens,  were  set 
upon  by  a  large  body  of  Cheyennes  and  Arapahoes,  and  a  desperate  fight  ensued, 
lasting  for  three  hours,  when  they  were  relieved  by  two  companies  of  soldiers,  with 
a  howitzer,  who  drove  off  the  Indians,  with  a  loss  of  fifty  or  sixty  killed  and  a  large 
number  wounded. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

INDIAN  PEACE  COMMISSION  OF  1867-68  —  TREATIES  WITH  THE  HOSTILE 
TRIBES— REPORT  OF  THE  COMMISSIONERS— GENERAL  SHERIDAN— RENEWAL 
OF  HOSTILITIES— FORSYTE'S  BATTLE— SURPRISE  AND  SLAUGHTER  OF  BLACK 
KETTLE  AND  HIS  BAND— CESSATION  OF  THE  WAR. 

MIIJTABY  operations  against  the  hostile  tribes  having  proved  wholly  ineffectual, 
Congress,  on  July  20,  1867,  created  a  commission  "  to  establish  peace  with  certain 
hostile  Indian  tribes."  The  "  Peace  Commissioners"  appointed  were  N.  G.  Taylor, 
Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs ;  J.  B.  Henderson,  Chairman  of  the  Indian  Com 
mittee  of  the  United  States  Senate ;  J.  B.  Sanborn  and  S.  F.  Tappan,  civilians ;  and 
Generals  Sherman,  Harney,  Terry,  and  Augur,  of  the  army.  They  were  to  meet 
the  chiefs  and  head-men  of  the  hostile  bands,  and,  if  advisable,  to  make  treaties  with 
them,  with  a  view, — first,  to  remove,  if  possible,  the  causes  of  war;  secondly,  to  secure 
peace  to  our  frontier  settlements,  and  the  safe  construction  of  our  railroads  to  the 
Pacific ;  and,  thirdly,  to  suggest  or  inaugurate  some  plan  for  the  civilization  of  the 
Indians.  They  were  "also  to  examine  and  select  a  district  or  districts  of  country 
having  sufficient  area  to  receive  all  the  Indian  tribes  occupying  territory  east  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains  not  then  settled  upon  reservations,  which  should  have  sufficient 
arable  or  grazing  land  to  enable  the  tribes  placed  on  them  to  support  themselves, 
and  so  located  as  not  to  interfere  with  travelled  highways  and  contemplated  railroads 
to  the  Pacific." 

At  this  time  war  existed  with  several  tribes,  and  great  diversity  of  opinion  existed 
as  to  the  proper  method  to  be  pursued,  some  believing  in  the  efficacy  of  peaceful 
negotiations,  while  others  saw  no  hope  except  in  the  entire  subjugation  of  the 
Indians.  With  great  difficulty  the  commissioners  succeeded  in  procuring  interviews 
with  the  leaders  of  these  hostile  tribes,  through  the  facilities  afforded  by  the  military 
posts  and  Indian  agencies.  On  September  12  they  met  at  North  Platte,  en  the 
Pacific  Railroad,  a  large  number  of  Sioux  and  Northern  Cheyennes,  some  of  whom 
had  recently  been  engaged  in  war.  At  this  meeting  a  full  and  friendly  understand 
ing  was  arrived  at,  which,  though  not  reduced  to  writing,  was  faithfully  kept  by  the 
Indians.  The  commissioners  next  proceeded  to  a  point  about  eighty  miles  south 
of  the  Arkansas  River,  where  they  met,  on  Medicine  Lodge  Creek,  the  Kiowas, 
Comanches,  Arapahoes,  and  Apaches.  The  Cheyennes  were  at  first  distrustful  of  the 
purpose  of  the  commission,  and  encamped  at  a  distance.  A  treaty  was  in  due  time 
made  with  the  other  tribes,  and  finally,  on  October  28, 1867,  with  the  Cheyennes  and 
Arapahoes.  The  Sioux,  owing  to  the  lateness  of  the  season,  ami  a  belief  prevalent 
among  them  that  they  were  to  be  exterminated,  did  not  appear  at  Fort  Laramie  at 
428 


INDIAN  AFFAIRS  SINCE  THE  ACQUISITION  OF  CALIFORNIA.          429 

the  time  appointed.  Red  Cloud,  however,  sent  word  that  his  hostility  was  with  a 
view  to  save  the  Powder  River  country  from  intrusion,  it  being  the  only  hunting- 
ground  left  to  his  people,  and  that  whenever  the  garrisons  of  Forts  Phil  Kearney 
and  C.  F.  Smith  were  withdrawn  his  hostility  would  cease.  He  agreed,  however,  to 
a  truce  until  he  could  meet  the  commissioners  in  the  following  spring. 

Resuming  its  duties  at  that  time,  the  commission,  on  April  29,  1868,  concluded 
a  treaty  with  the  Ogalalla  and  Bruld  Sioux  at  Fort  Laramie,  afterwards  accepted 
and  ratified  by  the  Blackfeet,  Upper  and  Lower  Yanktonnais,  Uncpapas,  Sans  Arc, 
Two-Kettle,  Minneconjou,  Lower  Bruit",  and  Santee  Sioux,  providing  that  war  was 
to  cease  forever.  Bad  men  upon  either  side  were  to  be  arrested  and  punished,  and 
persons  injured  were  to  be  reimbursed.  By  the  treaty  with  the  Kiowas,  Comanches, 
and  Apaches,  a  district  of  country  in  the  Indian  Territory,  between  the  Red  and 
Wachita  Rivers  and  the  98th  and  100th  meridians  of  west  longitude,  was  set  apart 
for  their  absolute  use  and  occupation,  and  for  such  other  friendly  tribes  or  individual 
Indians  as  from  time  to  time  they  chose  to  admit  among  them  ;  and  the  United  States 
solemnly  agreed  that  none  but  properly  authorized  persons  should  be  ]>ermitted  "  to 
pass  over,  settle  upon,  or  reside  in  the  territory  described,  or  in  such  territory  as  may 
be  added  to  this  reservation  for  the  use  of  said  Indians." 

The  same  guarantee  was  given  against  outside  intrusion  on  their  lands  in  the 
treaty  with  the  Cheyennes  and  Arapahoes,  whose  reservation  adjoined  theirs  on  the 
south,  the  Indians  in  both  cases  relinquishing  their  right  of  occupancy  to  the  terri 
tory  outside  their  reservations,  but  reserving  the  right  to  hunt  on  lands  south  of  the 
Arkansas  so  long  as  the  buffalo  could  be  successfully  chased  therein.  To  the  Sioux, 
with  the  same  guarantee,  was  assigned  the  district  between  the  Missouri  River  and 
the  104th  meridian  of  west  longitude,  and  between  the  4Gth  parallel  of  north  latitude 
and  the  State  of  Nebraska.  All  these  treaties  stipulated  that  no  cession  of  any  part 
of  the  reservation  should  be  valid  unless  executed  and  signed  by  three-fourths  of  all 
the  adult  males  interested  therein,  and  that  no  cession  should  deprive  such  Indians 
as  had  selected  homesteads  of  their  rights  without  their  consent. 

In  the  Sioux  treaty  the  United  States  stipulated  that  the  country  north  of  the 
Platte  and  east  of  the  summit  of  the  Big  Horn  Mountains  should  be  held  to  be 
unceded  Indian  territory,  upon  which  no  white  person  should  settle  without  the 
Indians'  consent,  and  that  within  ninety  days  after  the  conclusion  of  peace  the  mili 
tary  posts  established  in  this  territory  should  be  abandoned,  and  the  roads  to  them 
and  by  them  to  the  Territory  of  Montana  closed  up.  While  ceding  all  territory 
outside  of  their  reservation,  they  reserved  the  right  to  hunt  north  of  the  Platte 
and  on  the  Republican  Fork  of  the  Smoky  Hill.  This  treaty  was  ratified  and 
proclaimed  in  the  latter  part  of  February,  1869. 

In  their  report,  made  January  7,  1868,  the  commission  recommended  the  setting 
apart  of  two  districts  for  permanent  Indian  colonization,— one  to  be  bounded  north 
by  the  46th  parallel,  south  by  the  north  line  of  Nebraska,  east  by  the  Missouri 
River,  and  west  by  the  104th  meridian ;  the  other  east  by  the  States  of  Missouri 
and  Arkansas,  west  by  the  101st  meridian,  north  by  Kansas,  and  south  by  Texas. 


430  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

They  also  recommended  that  for  each  district  a  territorial  government  should  be 
established,  that  agriculture  and  manufactures  should  be  introduced  as  rapidly  as 
possible,  schools  established,  and  courts  and  other  institutions  of  government  suited 
to  their  condition  organized.  Tribal  distinctions  should  be  blotted  out,  and  the 
English  language  should  be  substituted  for  their  barbarous  dialects. 

With  reference  to  removing  causes  of  complaint,  the  commissioners  say,  "  This 
would  be  no  easy  task.  It  is  now  rather  late  in  the  day  to  think  of  obliterating  from 
the  minds  of  the  present  generation  the  remembrance  of  wrong.  Among  civilized 
men  war  usually  springs  from  a  sense  of  injustice.  The  best  possible  way,  then,  to 
avoid  war  is  to  do  no  act  of  injustice.  When  we  learn  that  the  same  rule  holds  with 
Indians,  the  chief  difficulty  is  removed.  But  it  is  said, '  Our  wars  with  them  have 
been  almost  constant  Have  we  been  uniformly  unjust  ?'  We  answer  unhesitatingly, 
Yes !"  They  say,  further,  that  in  every  case  of  complications  then,  and  for  several 
years  previously,  existing,  which  they  had  investigated,  the  cause  of  difficulty  was 
traced  to  the  wrong-doing  of  our  own  people,  both  civil  and  military.  Although  no 
treaty  had  then  been  made  with  the  Sioux,  the  commissioners  said  in  their  report 
that  "  with  anything  like  prudence  and  good  conduct  on  the  part  of  our  own  people 
i  ».  future,  we  believe  the  Indian  war  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  is  absolutely 
closed." 

From  this  ably-written  and  carefully-prepared  document  we  quote  still  further : 

"  The  treaty  stipulations  with  many  of  the  tribes  are  altogether  inappropriate. 
They  seem  to  have  been  made  in  total  ignorance  of  their  numbers  and  disposition, 
and  in  utter  disregard  of  their  wants. 

"  It  is  useless  to  go  over  the  history  of  Indian  removals.  If  it  had  been  done 
but  once,  the  record  would  be  less  revolting.  From  the  Eastern  to  the  Middle  States, 
from  thence  to  Illinois  and  Wisconsin,  thence  to  Missouri  and  Iowa,  thence  to 
Kansas,  Dakota,  and  the  plains;  whither  next  we  cannot  tell.  Surely  the  policy 
was  not  designed  to  perpetuate  barbarism ;  but  such  has  been  its  effect  Many  of  the 
tribes  are  now  beyond  the  region  of  agriculture,  where  the  chase  is  a  necessity.  So 
long  as  they  have  to  subsist  in  this  way,  civilization  is  out  of  the  question." 

The  commission  recommended,  among  other  things,  that  the  intercourse  laws 
subsisting  should  be  thoroughly  revised,  that  white  persons  who  trespass  on  Indian 
reservations  should  be  removed  by  the  military  authorities,  and  that  Indian  affairs 
should  be  committed  to  an  independent  bureau  or  department 

For  nearly  a  year  the  treaties  made  by  the  commission  remained  unratified, — a 
delay  that  worked  great  injury.  The  Indians  had  surrendered  their  old  reservations, 
upon  which  the  whites  had  already  begun  to  settle,  though  by  the  terms  of  the  treaty 
three  years  were  to  elapse  before  they  should  do  so.  General  Sheridan,  in  taking 
command  of  the  Department  of  the  Missouri,  in  April,  1868,  found  encamped  near 
Fort  Dodge,  Kansas,  a  large  number  of  Kiowas,  Comanches,  Cheyennes,  and  Arapa- 
hoes,  but  declined  the  interview  they  sought  in  which  to  make  known  their  needy 
condition.  These  Indians  were  practically  without  a  home,  had  not  received  the 
annuities  due  them,  and  no  appropriation  had  been  made  for  fulfilling  the  provisions 


INDIAN  AFFAIRS  SINCE  THE  ACQUISITION  OF  CALIFORNIA.          431 

of  the  treaty  of  1867.  They  were  destitute.  Government  failed  to  respond  to  the 
urgent  and  repeated  requests  of  the  Indian  Commissioner,  their  agents,  and  others, 
to  save  them  from  actual  starvation.  Their  outspoken  dissatisfaction  at  this  cruel 
treatment  seems  to  have  inspired  General  Sheridan  with  no  other  idea  than  that  they 
required  to  be  "soundly  whipped,  the  ringleaders  hung,  their  ponies  killed,  and  such 
destruction  of  their  property  made  as  will  render  them  very  poor."  Proceeding 
upon  this  theory,  and  believing  that  making  peace  with  the  Indians  was  an  error 
of  judgment  on  the  part  of  the  Peace  Commissioners,  it  was  not  long  before,  in  his 
judgment,  the  Indians,  especially  the  Cheyennes  and  Arapahoes,  were  "hostile," 
and  he  began  to  prepare  troops  to  operate  against  them.  Upon  his  representations, 
a  majority  of  the  Peace  Commissioners  met  in  Chicago  in  October,  1868,  reversed 
all  their  previous  work,  abrogated  the  hunting  privileges  outside  of  reservations, 
and  decided  to  compel  the  Indians  to  go  on  the  reservations  assigned  them,  and  that 
the  Indian  Bureau  should  be  turned  over  to  the  War  Department ! 

In  August  a  new  military  district  had  been  created,  bounded  east  by  the  Arkansas 
River,  south  by  Texas,  north  by  Kansas,  and  west  by  the  100th  meridian,  to  which 
General  Hazen  was  assigned,  with  the  supervision  and  control  of  the  Cheyennes, 
Arapahoes,  Kiowas,  and  Comanches.  Just  previous  to  this  a  dissatisfied  party  of 
Cheyennes  had  perpetrated  outrages  against  the  whites  on  the  Saline  River.  Agent 
Wynkoop  deir  <nded  of  the  principal  chiefs,  Medicine  Arrow  and  Little  Rock,  that 
they  should  deliver  up  the  perpetrators,  which  they  promised  should  be  done,  but 
before  sufficient  time  had  elapsed  for'  them  to  fulfil  this  promise,  the  troops  were  in 
the  field,  and  the  Indians  in  flight.  General  Sheridan  was  then  operating  with 
detached  squads  of  troops,  who  annoyed  and  harassed  the  Indians,  killing  them 
whenever  possible.  In  turn  the  Indians  retaliated,  killing  some  of  Sheridan's  scouts. 
In  addition  to  his  regular  troops  he  obtained  the  services  of  two  hundred  Osage 
Indians,  whom  he  attached  to  Custer's  command.  Governor  Crawford,  of  Kansas, 
raised  a  regiment  of  volunteers,  which  he  led  in  person. 

One  of  the  actions  of  this  campaign  furnishes  a  remarkable  instance  of  heroism 
and  endurance.  Brevet  Lieutenant-Colonel  George  A.  Forsyth,  Ninth  U.S.  Cavalry, 
was  permitted  to  raise  and  lead  a  force  of  fifty  men  for  a  scouting  expedition.  Fol 
lowing  a  fresh  trail,  the  morning  of  September  17  found  them  in  camp  on  the  bank 
of  the  Arickaree,  in  which  stream  there  were  but  a  few  inches  of  running  water.  A 
small  island  in  the  middle  of  the  stream,  directly  behind  the  bivouac,  was  fringed 
with  willows  and  bore  a  few  stunted  trees.  At  daybreak  the  Indians  rushed  upon 
them,  but  were  soon  driven  back.  Forsyth,  seeing  their  overwhelming  numbers,  at 
once  decided  to  take  position  on  the  sand  island,  which  was  separated  from  the  main 
land  by  a  mere  thread  of  water.  The  movement  was  effected,  and  the  men  distributed 
in  a  circle,  ordered  to  lie  down,  and  as  soon  as  possible  dig  rifle-pits  for  themselves 
in  the  sand.  An  annoying  fire  was  kept  up  by  the  Indians  until  about  nine  o'clock, 
when  a  charge  was  made,  with  unearthly  yells,  by  three  hundred  mounted  warriors. 
When  within  thirty  yards  of  the  rifle-pits,  a  rapid  and  effective  discharge  stopped 
the  savages,  and  caused  them  to  take  to  flight  as  rapidly  as  they  had  advanced. 


432  TOE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

The  ground  was  strewed  with  dead  warriors,  foremost  among  them  Roman  Nose, 
their  principal  war-chief.  At  two  o'clock  another  assault  was  made  and  repulsed, 
and  a  third  and  much  feebler  one  at  about  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon.  A  Sep 
tember  rain  set  in.  Every  horse  and  mule  was  killed  by  the  enemy's  fire.  The 
second  in  command,  Lieutenant  Beecher,  and  five  men,  had  been  killed  or  mortally 
wounded;  and  seventeen  severely  wounded,  among  them  the  gallant  Forsyth. 

Fort  Wallace,  the  nearest  point  whence  succor  could  arrive,  was  one  hundred 
miles  distant.  The  men  were  without  food,  and  surrounded  by  nine  hundred  well- 
armed  warriors.  A  well  was  dug,  the  dead  animals'  flesh  was  cut  into  strips  for  food, 
t lie  line  was  strengthened  with  saddles  and  dead  animals,  and  at  nightfall  two  men 
were  despatched  through  the  enemy's  line  to  Fort  Wallace.  Day  after  day  the  heroic 
baud  sustained  the  steady  fire  of  the  Indians,  but  by  the  fifth  day  the  suffering  from 
hunger,  as  the  meat  could  no  longer  be  eaten,  was  intense.  By  this  time  the  Indians 
began  to  disappear,  and  by  the  seventh  day  all  had  left,  but  the  beleaguered  force  was 
too  weak  to  move,  when,  on  the  morning  of  the  ninth  day,  succor  at  length  arrived. 
The  Indians  encountered  were  Northern  Cheyennes,  Brule"  and  Ogalalla  Sioux,  and 
about  one  hundred  and  seventy  "  Dog  Soldiers,"  the  banditti  of  the  plains.  Their 
loss  is  said  to  have  been  thirty-five  killed  and  one  hundred  wounded. 

On  November  23,  1868,  General  Custer,  with  the  Seventh  Cavalry,  proceeded 
south  towards  the  Antelope  Hills  from  his  camp  on  the  North  Canadian  River  in 
search  of  hostile  Indians.  On  the  morning  of  the  27th  he  surprised  Black  Kettle's 
camp  of  Cheyennes  on  the  Wichita,  killed  that  chief  and  one  hundred  and  three 
warriors,  and  captured  the  camp,  including  all  their  winter  supply  of  flour,  meat, 
and  other  provisions,  fifty-three  women,  and  their  children.  Black  Kettle  was 
assisted  by  the  Arapahoes,  under  Little  Raven,  and  the  Kiowas,  under  Satanta,  who 
were  encamped  six  miles  below,  and  who  kept  up  a  fierce  attack  on  the  troops  from 
noon  until  about  three  P.M.  Custer's  loss  was  twenty-nine  killed,  including  Major 
Elliot,  and  fourteen  wounded.  General  Sheridan  states  that  this  battle  took  place 
one  hundred  miles  beyond  the  reservation,  and  Lhat  it  was  this  band  that  committed 
the  first  depredations  upon  the  Saline  and  the  Solomon.  Both  statements  have  been 
questioned. 

In  a  communication  from  Colonel  Wynkoop  to  the  Indian  Office  he  said  that  "  a 
few  thousand  dollars  for  subsistence  for  these  starving  Indians  at  the  proper  time 
would  have  saved  millions  to  the  treasury,  saved  many  white  men's  lives,  saved  the 
necessity  of  hunting  down  and  destroying  innocent  Indians  for  the  fault  of  the 
guilty,  and  driving  into  misery  and  starvation  numbers  of  women  and  little  children, 
not  one  of  whom  but  then  mourned  some  relative  brutally  murdered  at  the  horrible 
massacre  at  Sand  Creek,  and  who  still  suffer  from  the  loss  of  their  habitations  and 
property  wantonly  destroyed  by  General  Hancock."  After  the  affair  of  the  Wichita 
he  wrote  to  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs  as  follows :  "  I  am  perfectly  satisfied 
that  the  position  of  Black  Kettle  at  the  time  of  the  attack  upon  his  village  was  not 
a  hostile  one.  I  know  that  he  had  proceeded  to  the  point  at  which  he  was  killed 
with  the  understanding  that  it  was  the  locality  where  those  Indians  who  were  friendly 


INDIAN  AFFAIRS  SINCE  THE  ACQUISITION  OF  CALIFORNIA.  433 

disposed  should  assemble.  I  know  that  such  information  had  been  conveyed  to 
Black  Kettle  as  the  orders  of  the  military  authorities.  ...  In  regard  to  the  charge 
that  Black  Kettle  was  engaged  in  the  depredations  committed  on  the  Saline  and 
Solomon  during  the  summer  of  1808,  I  know  the  same  to  be  utterly  false,  as  Black 
Kettle  was  at  that  time  camped  near  my  agency  on  the  Pawnee  Fork."  Superin 
tendent  Murphy,  of  the  Osage  Agency,  wrote  the  commissioner,  December  4,  1868, 
that  the  party  thus  attacked  and  slaughtered  by  General  Custer  and  his  command 
was  Black  Kettle's  band  of  Cheyennes, — "  Black  Kettle,  one  of  the  best  and  truest 
friends  the  white  man  had  among  the  Indians  of  the  plains."  The  testimony  of 
General  Carr,  who,  July  11,  1869,  surprised  a  camp  of  Dog  Soldiers  and  Cheyennes 
near  Valley  Station,  killing  fifty-two  and  capturing  a  number  of  women  and  children, 
confirms  the  above  statement.  "  We  followed  them,"  says  Carr,  "  for  ten  days,  and 
found  them  at  a  spring  east  of  the  South  Platte,  near  Valley  Station,  then  went 
back  towards  the  head  of  Frenchman's  Fork.  .  .  .  The  prisoners  report  this  to  be 
the  only  body  of  Indians  known  on  the  Republican.  It  is  the  same  that  fought 
Forsyth  and  all  other  parties  on  the  Republican  last  year." 

Mo-ka-ta-va-ta,  or  Black  Kettle,  the  principal  Cheyenne  chief,  at  a  council  held 
at  Fort  Ellsworth,  Kansas,  in  the  winter  of  1866-67,  ppoke  at  length,  and  with 
earnest  natural  eloquence  entreated  that  the  Great  Father  would  stop  the  building  of 
the  iron  road,  which  would  soon  drive  away  the  buffalo  and  leave  his  children  without 
food.  He  was  described  at  this  time  as  a  fine-looking  man,  of  middle  age,  with  heavy 
features  and  frame.  He  possessed  great  influence  with  his  tribe,  and  by  his  wise 
counsel  had  more  than  once  averted  war.  His  dress  was  simple,  with  the  exception 
of  a  massive  necklace  of  crescent-shaped  silver  plates,  from  the  front  of  which 
depended  a  heavy  silver  medal  bearing  the  profile  in  relief  of  Washington.  It 
had  been  presented  long  ago  by  the  President  of  the  United  States  to  one  of  Black 
Kettle's  ancestors,  and  was  worn  with  evident  pride. 

December  22,  1868,  General  Custer  reported  that  all  the  Apaches,  nearly  all  the 
Comanches,  and  the  principal  chiefs  and  bands  of  the  Kiowas  had  come  in  and 
placed  themselves  in  a  peaceful  attitude.  The  Cheyennes  and  Arapahoes  were  sup 
ped  to  be  concentrated  in  the  mountains  forty  or  fifty  miles  from  Fort  Cobb.  The 
Uncpapa  Blackfeet,  Lower  Yanktonnais,  Sans  Arcs,  Upper  and  Lower  Brultf,  Two 
Kettle,  Minneconjou,  and  Ogalallas,  were  for  years  prior  to  1868  hostile  to  govern 
ment,  and  depredated  upon  the  white  settlers.  Claiming  the  ownership  of  Dakota 
and  of  parts  of  Montana  and  Wyoming,  as  well  as  Western  Nebraska,  they  made 
every  effort  to  prevent  the  settlement  of  that  region,  their  hostility  being  specially 
directed  against  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad.  The  military  operations  of  1867-68 
convinced  the  Sioux  of  the  hoi>elessness  of  the  contest,  and  disposed  them  to  accept 
the  provision  made  for  them  by  the  treaty  of  1868.  Except  the  main  portion  of 
the  Ogalalla  band,  and  a  considerable  body  from  all  the  bands  known  as  the  "  hostile 
Sioux,"  of  whom  Sitting  Bull  and  Black  Moon  were  the  principal  chiefs,  their  bands 
were  at  the  close  of  the  year  within  their  reservations. 

Lieutenant-Colonel  Evans  moved  from  Fort  Bascom  up  the  main  Canadian, 

n—55 


434  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

scouting  to  the  head-waters  of  the  Red  River,  and  there  discovered  a  trail  of  Coman- 
ches,  followed  it  up,  and  on  December  25  attacked  the  party,  killing  some  twenty- 
five,  wounding  a  large  number,  capturing  and  burning  their  village,  and  destroying 
all  their  property.  General  Carr  operated  on  the  Canadian,  west  of  the  Antelope 
Hills,  and  forced  the  Cheyennes  and  Arapahoes  over  into  the  eastern  edge  of  the 
Staked  Plains,  where  there  was  no  grass,  and,  being  without  supplies,  they  were  com 
pelled  to  surrender,  and  promised  to  go  upon  their  reservation.  The  Arapahoes 
were  faithful,  and  delivered  themselves  up ;  the  Cheyennes  broke  their  promise,  and 
did  not  come  in  until  General  Custer  came  upon  them  on  the  head-waters  of  Red 
River. 


CHAPTER    V. 

TROUBLES    IN    MONTANA— PIEGAN  MASSACRE— RED  CLOUD  VISITS  WASHINGTON 
«.  —CHEYENNE,    ARAPAHOE,   AND    WICHITA    CHIEFS    VISIT    NEW    YORK    AND 

BOSTON— MODOC  WAR— BLACK  HILLS  EXPEDITION -UNLAWFUL  ORDER  OP 
GENERAL  SHERIDAN— SIOUX  AND  CHEYENNE  WAR  OF  187 6 -DESTRUCTION  OF 
CRAZY  HORSE'S  VILLAGE— BATTLE  OF  THE  ROSEBUD— MASSACRE  OF  GEN- 
ERAL  CUSTER'S  COMMAND— AGENCY  INDIANS  DISARMED  AND  DISMOUNTED 
—SITTING  BULL  SURRENDERS— GENERAL  McKENZIE  DESTROYS  A  LARGE 
CHEYENNE  VILLAGE— BANNOCK  WAR— FLIGHT  OF  DULL  KNIFE'S  BAND  OF 
NORTHERN  CHEYENNES. 

TROUBLES  between  the  invading  horde  of  miners  and  the  Indian  population  of 
Montana  culminated  in  the  fall  of  1869  in  a  proclamation  of  war  by  Acting-Gov 
ernor  Meagher,  who  on  his  own  motion  called  out  troops  and  offered  a  liberal 
bounty  for  Indian  scalps.  The  Bloods  and  Blackfeet,  who  had  for  many  years  been 
on  friendly  terms  with  the  whites,  tried  to  avoid  conflicts  with  Meagher's  forces ; 
nevertheless,  some  of  them  were  plundered  and  a  number  were  killed. 

Mountain  Chief's  band  of  Piegana  was  disposed  to  retaliate  these  injuries,  but 
this  band  had  in  the  winter  of  1869-70  gone  north,  and  was  wintering  in  the  British 
possessions.  An  expedition  under  Colonel  E.  M.  Baker,  Second  U.S.  Cavalry,  was 
sent  against  this  party  by  General  Sheridan,  which  on  the  19th  of  January,  1870, 
moved  towards  the  Maria's  River.  On  the  morning  of  the  23d  he  surprised  the 
Piegan  village  of  Bear  Chief  and  Red  Horn,  a  band  against  which  no  complaint  had 
ever  been  made,  and  which  at,  the  time  was  terribly  afflicted  with  smallpox,  and,  no 
resistance  being  offered,  killed  one  hundred  and  seventy-three  Indians,  mostly  women 
and  children,  and  took  about  forty  women  and  children  prisoners.  The  latter  were 
turned  loose  upon  the  prairie,  to  starve  or  perish  otherwise.  The  report  of  Lieu 
tenant  Pease,  Indian  Agent  for  the  Blackfeet,  and  a  reliable  officer,  states  that  of  the 
Indians  killed  thirty-three  were  men,  fifteen  only  being  warriors.  These  sickening 
details  aroused  the  popular  indignation,  and  the  conduct  of  those  engaged  in  the 
"  Piegan  Massacre"  was  severely  condemned. 

Two  occurrences  in  1870  tended  to  bring  about  a  better  understanding  between 
the  government  and  the  Indian  tribes.  One  of  those  was  the  visit  to  Washington 
of  two  deputations  of  powerful  chicfe,  headed  by  Red  Cloud,  tho  Sioux  leader.  A 
patient  hearing  of  their  grievances  tended  in  some  measure  to  allay  their  discontent, 
and  after  their  return  to  the  plains  they  labored  faithfully  for  the  preservation  of 
peace.  Their  neighbors  the  Kiowas,  angry  at  the  arrest  of  their  chiefs  Satanta  and 
Satauk,  earnestly  pressed  them  to  go  on  the  war-path,  but  they  firmly  refused. 

43ft  . 


436  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

Finding  themselves  unsupported,  the  Kiowas  concluded  to  remain  at  peace.  The 
other  encouraging  circumstance  was  found  in  the  humane  policy  of  President  Grant, 
who  appointed  commissioners  to  visit  the  Indians  from  the  Society  of  Friends,  and 
called  on  other  denominations  of  the  country  to  send  their  best  men  among  the 
savages  as  missionaries,  and  to  bring  them  into  accord  with  the  ways  of  civilized 
society.  The  idea  that  the  Indian  could  not  be  civilized  had  begun  to  be  questioned. 

Another  deputation  of  chiefs  visited  Washington  early  in  1871  to  confer  with  the 
government  respecting  their  boundaries,  and  extended  their  visit  to  New  York  and 
Boston.  In  New  York  they  were  addressed  by  the  venerable  Peter  Cooper,  by 
Professor  B.  N.  Martin,  and  others,  and  in  Boston  by  Vincent  Collyer  and  by  Wen 
dell  Phillips,  who  alluded  to  Mo-ka-ta-va-ta  (Black  Kettle)  as  the  Philip  Sidney  of 
the  plains.  Among  these  chiefs  were  Little  Raven,  Powder  Face,  and  Bird  Chief, 
of  the  Arapahoes ;  Little  Robe  and  Stone  Calf,  of  the  Cheyennes ;  and  Buffalo 
Goad,  of  the  Wichitas.  They  were  dressed  partly  in  their  native  style,  wearing 
moccasins  and  ear-rings,  and  having  their  long  black  hair  braided.  Buffalo  Goad, 
their  most  eloquent  speaker,  wore  a  plain  black  suit.  The  prevailing  type  of  face 
was  that  of  the  warlike  Sioux, — a  coarse,  broad  lower  face,  Hebrew  nose,  and 
retreating  forehead.  Powder  Face  formed  a  marked  exception  among  them,  his 
profile  having  all  the  grandeur  of  the  traditional  "  noble  red  man."  Stone  Calf 
appeared  in  all  the  paraphernalia  of  a  warrior.  Speeches  were  made  by  several  of 
the  chiefs.  Little  Raven  said,  "  Long  ago  the  Arapahoes  had  a  fine  country  of  their 
own.  The  white  man  came,  and  the  Indians  gave  him  buffalo-meat  and  a  horse  to 
ride  on,  and  told  him  the  country  was  big  enough  for  the  white  man  and  the  Arapa 
hoes  too.  After  a  while  the  white  man  found  gold  in  our  country.  They  took  the 
gold,  and  pushed  the  Indian  from  his  home.  I  am  an  old  mau  now.  I  have  been 
waiting  many  years  for  Washington  to  give  us  our  rights.  The  white  man  has 
taken  away  everything.  I  hope  justice  will  be  done  to  my  children,  if  not  to  myself. 
God  gave  this  country  to  the  Indian,  and  God  seat  the  white  man  here  ;  but  I  don't 
think  God  sent  the  white  man  to  do  injustice  to  the  Indians  always.  I  want  my 
people  to  live  like  white  people,  and  have  the  same  chance.  I  hope  the  Great  Spirit 
will  put  a  good  heart  into  the  white  people,  that  they  may  give  us  our  rights." 
Buffalo  Goad  said,  "  We  want  houses  built  for  our  people  to  live  in,  and  school-houses 
for  our  children,  the  same  as  white  children  have.  The  white  people  have  done  a 
great  deal  of  wrong  to  our  people,  and  we  want  to  have  it  stopped.  I  want  you  to 
stop  the  white  men  from  killing  the  Indians  after  this.  I  and  my  brother  represent 
five  different  tribes  who  have  always  been  friendly  to  the  whites.  But  because  we 
do  not  fight,  Washington  takes  away  our  lands  and  gives  them  to  the  tribes  that  are 
fighting  them  all  the  time.  When  I  got  to  Washington  they  said  they  knew  all 
about  my  people.  If  they  did  know  it,  why  didn't  they  help  us  and  fix  it  ?  I  would 
like  to  see  churches  and  school-houses  built  in  my  land,  and  would  like  to  see  my 
children  educated  before  I  die." 

A  treaty  with  the  Klamath  and  Modoc  tribes,  and  the  Yahooskin  band  of  Snake 
Indians,  of  Oregon,  ceding  all  their  lands,  and  accepting  a  tract  known  as  the  Kla- 


INDIAN  AFFAIRS  SINCE   THE  ACQUISITION  OF  CALIFORNIA.          437 

math  Reservation,  was  made  October  14, 1864.  The  Modocs  went  to  work  with  zeal 
to  build  cabins  and  enclose  ground  for  cultivation.  In  April,  1870,  they  left  the 
reservation  for  their  camp  on  Lost  River.  Captain  Jack  and  his  band  of  Modocs 
would  have  remained  and  settled  down  to  civilization  if  there  had  been  ordinary 
encouragement  and  assistance,  and  if  the  Klamaths,  their  hereditary  enemies,  who 
largely  outnumbered  them,  had  allowed  them  to  do  so.  The  agent  could  not  protect 
them  from  their  hostility,  the  issue  of  rations  was  suspended  for  want  of  funds,  and 
Captain  Jack  and  his  band  returned  to  their  old  home  on  Lost  River,  where  collisions 
soon  began  with  the  whites  who  in  the  mean  time  had  settled  on  the  ceded  lands. 

The  attempt  to  remove  them  in  November,  1872,  resulted  in  a  conflict  between 
the  Modocs  and  the  troops  and  white  settlers.  The  Indians  took  refuge  in  the  Lava 
Beds,  an  inaccessible  region  south  of  Tule  Lake,  where  for  weeks  they  successfully 
defied  all  the  troops  that  could  be  brought  against  them.  To  bring  about  a  peaceful 
settlement  of  the  difficulties,  a  commission  was  appointed  consisting  of  A.  B. 
Meacham,  L.  S.  Dyer,  and  Rev.  E.  Thomas,  who  were  placed  under  the  direction  of 
General  Canby.  April  11,  1873,  while  engaged  in  a  conference  with  Captain  Jack 
and  others  under  a  flag  of  truce,  the  two  latter  were  brutally  murdered,  and  Mr. 
Meacham  was  severely  wounded.  After  seven  months'  severe  fighting,  the  Modocs 
were  subdued,  and  Captain  Jack  and  three  of  his  principal  men,  who  were  impli 
cated  in  the  murder  of  the  commissioners,  were  tried  by  court-martial  and  executed, 
October  3.  The  remnant  of  the  tribe  was  captured  June  5,  1873,  and  placed  on  a 
reservation  in  the  Indian  Territory. 

A  campaign  against  the  Southern  Cheyennes  in  1873-74  was  successfully  and 
vigorously  carried  on  by  General  Miles,  and  on  March  G,  1874,  the  main  body  sur 
rendered.  Thirty-three  were  selected  for  punishment,  and  sent  to  Fort  Marion,  St. 
Augustine,  Florida,  to  be  closely  confined.  A  few  days  after,  nearly  four  hundred 
of  the  Cheyennes  "stampeded,"  went  north,  and  joined  their  relatives  in  Dakota. 
In  the  following  year  the  Cheyennes,  Kiowas,  and  Comanches,  on  the  borders  of  the 
Staked  Plains,  were  brought  under  subjection  and  disarmed,  and  an  active  campaign 
was  carried  on  against  the  Indians  who  had  committed  outrages  on  the  Mexican 
border.  The  campaign  against  the  Cheyennes,  Arapahoes,  Kiowas,  Comanches,  and 
other  bands  in  the  Southwest  was  successfully  terminated,  the  former  surrendering 
themselves  as  prisoners  of  war  and  giving  up  their  captives. 

By  the  treaty  of  1868  with  the  Sioux,  the  country  lying  between  the  northern 
boundary  of  Nebraska  and  the  46th  parallel  of  north  latitude,  bounded  east  by 
the  Missouri  River  and  west  by  the  104th  degree  of  west  longitude,  together  with 
the  reservations  then  existing  on  the  east  side  of  the  Missouri,  was  set  apart  for  the 
absolute  and  undisturbed  use  and  occupation  of  the  Sioux  for  their  permanent  home. 
It  also  provided  that  the  country  north  of  the  North  Platte  and  east  of  the  summit 
of  the  Big  Horn  Mountains  should  be  held  and  considered  unceded  Indian  territory, 
upon  which  no  white  person  should  enter  without  the  consent  of  the  Indians  first  had 
and  obtained.  They  thus  reserved  the  right  north  of  the  North  Platte  and  on  the 
Republican  Fork  of  the  Smoky  Hill  River.  The  treaty  left  it  to  the  discretion  of 


438  THE  INDIAN  TRIBES  O?  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

the  Indian  whether  he  would  be  a  farmer  or  a  nomad,  the  former  living  on  reserva 
tions  and  receiving  a  larger  annuity.  Many  naturally  preferred  to  follow  the  chase. 
This  treaty  was  the  work  of  the  Peace  Commission,  whose  honor  as  men,  as  well  as 
the  faith  of  the  United  States,  was  pledged  to  the  faithful  performance  of  its  stipula 
tions.  In  less  than  three  months  after  its  ratification  came  the  order  of  General 
Sheridan,  dated  June  29,  1869,  declaring  all  Indians  outside  the  well-defined  limits 
of  their  reservations  to  be  under  the  original  and  exclusive  jurisdiction  of  the  mili 
tary  authority,  and  stating  that,  as  a  rule,  they  would  be  considered  hostile.  This 
unlawful  order  was  executed  until  December,  1876. 

While  the  Sioux  were  hunted  down  and  punished  from  time  to  time  for  exercising 
their  right  to  roam  and  hunt  in  the  surrendered  territory,  the  whites  in  large  and 
small  bodies  passed  through  and  prospected  in  the  forbidden  territory,  protected  by 
the  military.  A  formidable  expedition,  in  charge  of  General  Custer,  left  St.  Paul 
in  June,  1874,  to  explore  the  Black  Hills,  at  which  the  Sioux  were  exceedingly 
incensed.  Gold  was  said  to  be  abundant,  and  expeditions  were  soon  organized.  It 
was  also  decided  to  locate  the  line  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  to  the  south  of 
the  Yellowstone.  These  measures  completed  the  alienation  of  the  Indians,  and, 
depredations  upon  them  having  begun,  they  retaliated.  The  surveying  parties  who 
attempted  to  run  the  new  line  of  the  railroad  were  driven  off.  Early  in  1876  there 
were  a  large  number  of  trespassers  in  the  Black  Hills. 

On  December  6,  1875,  the  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  in  pursuance  of  the 
instructions  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  through  the  agencies,  notified  Sitting 
Bull  and  other  hostile  Indians  to  remove  within  the  bounds  of  their  reservations  on 
or  before  the  31st  of  the  next  month.  These  Indians  were  nomads  who  were  hunting 
in  the  unceded  Indian  country  under  the  guarantee  of  the  treaty  of  1868.  They  re 
turned  for  answer  that  they  were  then  engaged  in  hunting  buffalo,  but  that  early  in  the 
spring  they  would  visit  the  agency  and  discuss  the  points  at  issue.  Although  required 
to  repair  to  the  reservations,  no  food  was  provided  for  them  had  they  done  so.  On 
the  1st  of  February,  1876,  Sitting  Bull  and  his  followers  were  turned  over  to  tte 
War  Department  by  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior,  and  thus  the  unjustifiable  and 
impolitic  Sioux  war  of  1876  was  inaugurated. 

Military  operations  began  in  the  latter  part  of  February,  1876,  General  Crook 
taking  the  field  with  about  thirteen  hundred  troops,  and  sending  a  part  of  his  com 
mand,  under  General  Reynolds,  against  the  band  of  Crazy  Horse.  His  village  was 
at  Bear  Buttes,  and  the  Indians  were  on  their  way  to  Red  Cloud  Agency.  They 
had  been  delayed  here  some  time  by  severe  weather,  as  the  women  and  children 
could  not  be  moved  with  safety.  On  the  17th  of  March  Reynolds  surprised  the. 
village,  which  he  attacked  and  destroyed.  He  captured  eight  hundred  ponies,  but 
they  were  recovered  by  the  Indians  next  day.  The  severity  of  the  weather  caused 
the  return  of  the  expedition  to  Fort  Fetterman  on  March  26. 

General  Crook  again  marched  against  the  Indians  on  May  29.  On  June  17  he 
encountered  the  Indians  under  Sitting  Bull.  The  so-called  Battle  of  the  Rosebud 
ensued,  and  so  skilfully  were  the  Indians  handled  that  General  Crook  was  obliged  to 


INDIAN  AFFAIRS  SINCE   THE  ACQUISITION  OF  CALIFORNIA.  439 

retreat  The  battle  of  the  Little  Big  Horn  occurred  on  the  25th,  between  a  portion 
of  the  force  of  General  Terry,  under  General  Ouster,  and  the  Indians  under  Sitting 
Bull.  Coming  upon  a  large  Indian  village,  Ouster  attacked  with  five  companies  of 
the  Seventh  Cavalry,  and  his  entire  command  was  obliterated.  The  remaining  seven 
companies,  under  Major  Reno,  were  nearly  surrounded,  and  fought  from  two  o'clock 
of  the  25th  till  six  o'clock  of  the  26th.  They  were  relieved  by  the  timely  arrival 
of  General  Terry's  command  on  the  27th.  Our  loss  was  twelve  officers  and  two 
hundred  and  fifty-five  men  killed,  two  officers  and  .fifty-one  men  wounded.  The 
Indian  force  was  estimated  at  from  two  thousand  five  hundred  to  three  thousand 
warriors.  They  say  that  their  victory  was  not  so  much  owing  to  superior  numbers 
as  to  the  exhausted  condition  of  Ouster's  men  and  horses,  und  their  advancing  into  a 
gorge  where  they  could  easily  be  cut  off. 

After  this  disaster  various  columns  of  troops  visited  the  Red  Cloud,  Standing 
Rock,  and  Cheyenne  River  Agencies,  and  disarmed  and  dismounted  the  Agency 
Indians  as  a  part  of  the  operations  supposed  to  be  necessary  to  settle  finally  the 
Sioux  difficulties.  Colonel  Otis,  at  Glendivi,  and  Colonel  Miles,  at  Tongue  River, 
had  encounters  with  the  Indians,  during  which  over  four  hundred  lodges  surrendered. 
These  Indians,  who  agreed  with  Colonel  Miles  to  go  into  the  agency,  were  in  fact 
Agency  Indians  of  the  Miuneconjou  and  Sans  Arc  bands,  who  had  long  desired  to 
return  home,  but  were  excluded  by  the  order  to  dismount  and  disarm  them  which 
preceded  the  expedition  of  General  Crook,  and  which  had  caused  them  to  abandon 
their  agencies.  They  were  no  part  of  Sitting  Bull's  followers.  At  this  time  Sitting 
Bull,  in  an  interview  with  General  Miles,  told  that  officer  that  he  desired  peace,  but 
that  if  troops  came  out  to  him  he  would  fight  them.  He  desired  to  hunt  buffalo  and 
to  trade,  but  wanted  no  rations  or  annuities,  and  desired  to  live  as  an  Indian.  He 
resided  peacefully  and  undisturbed  in  the  queen's  dominions  until  July  10,  1881, 
when  he,  with  the  remainder  of  his  baud,  surrendered  to  Major  Brotherton,  of  the 
Seventh  Infantry,  at  Fort  Buford.  Sitting  Bull  was  the  son  of  chief  Jumping  Bull, 
and  was  born  in  1837,  near  old  Fort  George,  on  Willow  Creek,  below  the  mouth  of 
the  Cheyenne  River.  He  very  early  acquired  skill  and  fame  both  in  war  and  in  the 
chase.  The  order  requiring  him  to  dwell  upon  an  agency  was  in  plain  violation  of 
his  treaty  rights,  and  the  attempt  to  enforce  it  was  an  outrage  and  a  national  dishonor. 
Of  a  piece  with  this  was  the  conduct  of  the  government  in  robbing  the  peaceable 
Indians  at  the  agencies  of  their  arms  and  ponies.  Red  Cloud  was  told  by  the  mili 
tary  that  it  was  done  by  the  order  of  the  President.  He  asked  if  his  Great  Father 
had  given  such  an  order,  and  said,  "  What  have  I  done,  that  I  should  receive  such 
treatment  from  him  whom  I  thought  my  friend  ?  My  faith  in  justice  being  done  to 
the  Indians  has  been  destroyed  by  the  course  that  has  been  pursued  towards  these 
peaceable  people." 

In  November,  1876,  General  Crook  again  resumed  offensive  operations.  He  sent 
a  column  under  General  McKenzie  in  pursuit  of  the  Northern  Cheyennes,  whose 
village  he  surprised  and  attacked  on  the  morning  of  the  25th.  At  the  first  alarm 
the  Indians  jumped  on  their  ponies,  and  were  hurrying  their  squaws  and  children 


440  TB£  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

out  of  the  camp  when  the  troops  came  upon  them.  Panic-stricken,  they  fired  a 
volley  and  fled,  taking  refuge  among  the  rocks  and  ravines,  from  which  they  began 
to  fire  on  the  cavalry,  then  just  forming  for  the  attack.  Some  gained  the  bluff 
commanding  the  camp,  while  others  occupied  the  upper  part  of  the  village,  from 
which  they  were  driven  by  a  cavalry  charge.  The  contest  continued  all  day. 
Many  Indians  were  killed,  and  the  village,  whose  population  consisted  of  twelve 
hundred  souls,  of  whom  three  hundred  were  warriors,  was  burned.  Of  McKenzie's 
force  eight  officers  and  privates  were  killed  and  twenty-five  wounded.  Eighty  thou 
sand  pounds  of  buffalo-meat, — their  winter  store, — twelve  hundred  robes,  and  all 
their  property  were  burned.  Those  that  escaped  were  utterly  destitute,  and  the 
weather  was  intensely  cold. 

Let  us  for  a  moment  examine  the  status  of  these  Indian  wards  of  the  United 
States.  Here  was  a  remote,  secluded  village,  whose  inmates  had  not  recently  been 
on  the  war-path,  but  who  had  been  engaged  in  providing  their  winter  stock  of  food 
and  in  preparing  for  market  the  hides  of  the  buffalo  they  had  slain.  They  had  110 
home  on  any  reservation,  but  had  a  right  to  roam  and  hunt  in  the  country  in  which 
they  then  were.  This  right  was  guaranteed  to  them  by  the  treaty  of  May  10,  1868. 
In  the  agreement  of  September,  1876,  with  these  and  the  Sioux  Indians,  was  the 
pledge  that  each  individual  should  be  "  protected  in  his  rights  of  property,  person, 
and  life."  The  covenants  of  this  agreement  were  known  to  Generals  Crook  and 
McKenzie  and  all  the  military  officers  in  the  Sioux  country.  Such  were  the  cir 
cumstances  attending  this  fresh  crime  against  humanity.  A  portion  of  the  Indians 
that  escaped  surrendered  to  General  Miles  in  the  following  spring.  The  chief  Hump, 
their  spokesman,  handed  his  belt  and  gun  to  the  general,  and  also  turned  over  all 
his  ponies,  saying,  "Take  these:  I  am  no  longer  chief  or  warrior."  To  a  newspaper 
correspondent  who  asked  why  he  had  put  himself  in  hostility  to  the  government,  he 
replied,  "  I  never  went  to  war  with  the  whites.  The  soldiers  began  chasing  me 
about,  for  what  cause  I  do  not  know  to  this  day.  I  dodged  as  long  as  I  could,  and 
hid  my  village  away,  but  at  last  they  found  it,  and  I  had  no  alternative  but  to  fight 
or  perish." 

In  May,  1877,  Crazy  Horse  and  his  band  came  to  Red  Cloud  Agency.  Their 
wish  was  to  be  assigned  to  some  district  where  they  could  chase  the  buffalo  and  be 
free.  In  August,  in  consequence  of  some  troubles  at  the  agency,  the  bands  of  Crazy 
Horse  were  dismembered  and  distributed  among  other  bands,  and  the  chief  was 
arrested  and  held  as  a  prisoner.  He  was  sent  to  Camp  Robinson  September  5,  and 
while  being  disarmed  at  the  guard-house  was  stabbed  with  a  bayonet  by  a  soldier, 
and  died  in  a  few  hours. 

During  the  year  1878  the  services  of  the  army  were  required  against  the  Ban 
nock  Indians,  of  Oregon,  whose  acts  of  violence  and  final  outbreak  in  June  of  that 
year  were  caused  by  the  insufficiency  of  food  on  the  reservation.  This  in  turn  was 
owing  to  the  inadequacy  of  the  appropriation  made  by  Congress  to  the  wants  of  the 
Indians  at  a  time  when  they  were  prevented  from  supplying  the  deficiency  by 
hunting.  After  an  arduous  pursuit  by  the  United  States  troops,  and  several  engage- 


INDIAN  AFFAIRS  SINCE   THE  ACQUISITION  OF  CALIFORNIA.          441 

ments,  the  hostile  Indians  were  reduced  to  subjection,  and  the  larger  part  of  them 
surrendered  themselves  as  prisoners. 

The  Northern  Cheyennes,  numbering  nine  hundred  and  seventy,  were  transferred 
in  August,  1877,  to  the  Indian  Territory,  and   turned  over  to  the  agent  of  the 
Southern  Cheyennes  and  Arapahoes.     They  were  dissatisfied  with  their  new  home, 
refused  to  affiliate  with  these  Indians,  and  manifested  a  repugnance  to  farming,  but 
Btrongly  desired  to  return  north,  where  they  said  they  would  settle  down.     Among 
the  disaffected  was  Dull  Knife's  band,  which  had  intermarried  with  the  Ogalalla  or 
Red  Cloud  Sioux  and  longed  to  return  north  and  join  their  friends.     On  the  night 
of  September  9,  1878,  this  band,  more  than  three  hundred  in  number,  left  their 
lodges  and  started  north.     There  were  eighty-seven  warriors  in  the  party.     They 
were  pursued  by  the  military,  and  several  engagements  took  place  as  they  passed 
through  Kansas,  where  they  killed  settlers,  burned  houses,  and  committed  other 
hostile  acts.     After  a  journey  of  six  hundred  miles,  greatly  reduced  in  number, 
they  reached  Northern  Nebraska,  where  they  surrendered  to  the  troops  on  condition 
that  they  should  be  taken  to  Dakota,     After  two  months'  imprisonment  at  Fort 
Robinson,  they  were  sent  back  to  tLa  Indian  Territory,  Dull  Knife  and  his  warriors 
protesting  that  they  preferred  death  to  that  alternative.     It  was  midwinter,  and  the 
cold  was  intense,  and  it  is  stated  that  as  a  means  cf  reducing  them  to  submission 
they  were  for  five  days  deprived  of  proper  food,  clothing,  and  fuel.     Such  inhumanity 
seems  incredible.    On  the  evening  of  January  9, 1879,  Dull  Knife  and  his  warriors, 
followed  by  the  women  and  children,  fled  from  the  fort  and  made  for  the  bluffs,  three 
miles  distant    They  were  hunted  dowu  and  slain  like  wild  beasts.    The  surviving 
women  and  children,  seventy-five  in  number,  were  sent  to  dwell  with  the  Ogalalla 
Sioux,  their  relatives,  at  the  Pine  Ridge  Agency,  Dakota. 


n— 56 


CHAPTER    VI. 

ATTEMPT  TO  REMOVE  JOSEPH'S  BAND  OP  NEZ  PERCES  RESISTED— BATTLES  OF 
WHITE  BIRD  CAftON  AND  THE  CLEARWATER— PURSUIT  OF  JOSEPH'S  BAND 
BY  GENERAL  HOWARD— REPULSE  OF  GENERAL  GIBBON— STAMPEDE  OF 
HOWARD'S  PACK-TRAIN—BATTLE  OF  BEAR-PAW  MOUNTAIN,  AND  SURRENDER 
OF  THE  INDIANS  TO  GENERAL  MILES— TROUBLES  WITH  THE  UTES— CESSION 
OF  THEIR  LANDS,  SEPTEMBER  13,  1873— MURDER  OF  AGENT  MEEKER  AT  THE 
WHITE  RIVER  AGENCY— ATTACK  ON  MAJOR  THORNBURGH'S  COMMAND— UTES 
AGREE  TO  LEAVE  COLORADO  AND  SETTLE  ON  A  RESERVATION. 

Is  consequence  of  troubles  between  the  Indians  and  the  white  settlers,  the  gov 
ernment,  early  in  1877,  decided  to  remove  chief  Joseph  and  his  band  of  Nez  Percys 
from  their  old  home  in  the  Wallowa  Valley,  Oregon, — a  strip  of  country  fifty  miles 
broad,  following  the  windings  of  the  Snake  River  from  the  Powder  River,— to  the 
Lapwai  Reservation,  in  Idaho,  where  since  1863  the  larger  part  of  the  tribe,  known 
as  "  treaty  Indians,"  had  resided.  Joseph,  with  about  five  hundred  Indians  who  had 
refused  to  accede  to  the  treaty  of  1863  excluding  them  from  their  homes,  rightfully 
claimed  the  valley  under  the  Stevens  treaty  of  1855,  and  it  had  also  been  conceded 
to  them  by  President  Grant  in  1873.  Two  years  later  this  order  was  revoked,  and 
"  in  the  interests  of  peace"  General  Howard  was  directed  to  induce  Joseph  to  remove. 

When  the  commissioners  appointed  to  endeavor  to  compose  the  trouble  with 
Joseph's  band  held  a  council  with  them,  in  1876,  and  asked  them  to  abandon  their 
claim  to  the  valley,  within  which  a  few  whites  were  settled,  that  chief  said, "  I  was 
made  of  the  earth,  and  grew  up  upon  its  bosom.  The  earth,  as  my  mother  and 
nurse,  is  too  sacred  to  my  affections  to  be  valued  by,  or  sold  for,  silver  and  gold. 
...  I  ask  nothing  of  the  President.  I  am  able  to  take  care  of  myself.  I  am 
disposed  to  live  peaceably.  I  and  my  band  have  suffered  wrong  rather  than  do 
wrong.  One  of  our  number  was  wickedly  slain  by  a  white  man  last  summer,  but 
I  shall  not  avenge  his  death.  But  the  voice  of  that  brother's  blood,  unavenged  by 
me,  will  call  the  dust  of  our  fathers  back  to  people  the  land  in  protest  against  this 
great  wrong."  At  the  last  moment  the  chief  was  thought  to  be  acting  in  good  faith 
for  the  removal,  when  some  of  the  younger  Indians  opposed  to  it,  and  panting  for 
excitement,  murdered  some  white  settlers,  and  he  was  constrained  to  go  with  the 
current  now  setting  so  strongly  among  his  followers  in  the  direction  of  war. 

Hostilities  began  on  June  13.     Two  companies  of  cavalry  under  Captain  Perry, 

sent  by  General  Howard  to  the  scene  of  disorder,  were  ambushed  and  defeated  on  the 

17th  at  White  Bird  Caflon,  losing  one  lieutenant  and  thirty-three  men, — one-third 

of  the  command.     On  the  llth  of  July  Howard  attacked  the  Indians  in  a  deep 

442 


INDIAN  AFFAIRS  SINCE  THE  ACQUISITION  OF  CALIFORNIA.          443 

ravine  on  the  Clearwater,  near  the  mouth  of  Cottonwood  Creek,  and,  renewing  the 
conflict  the  next  day,  routed  them,  capturing  their  camp  and  much  of  their  pro 
visions.  Twenty-three  warriors  were  killed,  a  much  larger  number  were  wounded, 
and  twenty-three  were  taken  prisoners.  Howard's  loss  was  thirteen  killed,  and  two 
officers  and  twenty-two  men  wounded. 

On  the  17th  Joseph  began  his  famous  retreat  eastward  towards  the  buffalo 
country,  taking  the  Lolo  trail  through  a  pass  of  the  Bitter  Root  Mountains  into 
Idaho.  Followed  on  the  27th  by  Howard,  the  pursuit  continued  across  plains, 
over  mountains,  and  through  forests,  most  of  the  way  being  over  a  desolate  and 
exceedingly  difficult  country,  for  thirteen  hundred  miles,  and  lasted  seventy-five 
days.  The  Indians,  accompanied  by  their  women  and  children,  drove  along  a  large 
herd  of  ponies,  which  furnished  them  with  fresh  remounts  whenever  hard  pressed. 
Colonel  Gibbon,  who  with  one  hundred  and  fifty  men  attacked  them,  August  9, 
on  Wisdom  River,  Montana,  was  soon  placed  on  the  defensive,  and  he  and  his  entire 
command  would  have  been  killed  or  captured  but  for  the  approach  of  Howard. 
On  August  20  Joseph  turned  upon  Howard  at  Camas  Prairie,  stampeding  and  run 
ning  off  his  pack-train.  On  September  13  Colonel  Sturgis  had  a  fight  with  him 
on  the  Yellowstone,  below  the  mouth  of  Clark's  Fork.  By  September  20  the  Indians 
had  reached  the  Missouri  River,  near  Cow  Island,  and  would  doubtless  have  suc 
ceeded  in  their  purpose  of  joining  Sitting  Bull  in  the  British  Dominions  had  not 
General  Miles  been  where  he  could,  with  his  comparatively  fresh  troops,  intercept 
them.  That  officer  had  moved  promptly  across  the  country  from  Tongue  River, 
crossed  the  Missouri  near  the  mouth  of  the  Mussel-Shell,  and  on  September  30  sur 
prised  the  Nez  Perces  in  a  ravine  at  Bear-Paw  Mountain,  near  the  mouth  of  Eagle 
Creek.  Making  his  dispositions  to  prevent  their  escape,  he  fought  a  bloody  and 
successful  battle,  winning  it  before  the  arrival  of  Howard.  He  lost  two  officers  and 
twenty-one  men  killed,  and  four  officers  and  thirty-eight  men  wounded.  The  Indians 
lost  six  of  their  leading  chiefs  and  twenty-five  warriors,  besides  forty  wounded.  On 
October  5  Joseph  and  his  people,  numbering  between  four  hundred  and  five  hundred, 
surrendered.  They  were  held  at  Fort  Leavenworth  until  July,  1878,  when  they  were 
attached  to  the  Ponca  Agency,  in  the  Indian  Territory. 

"Throughout  this  extended  campaign,"  says  General  Sherman,  "the  Indians 
displayed  a  courage  and  skill  that  elicited  universal  praise.  They  attained  from 
scalping,  let  captive  women  go  free,  did  not  murder  indiscriminately  as  mual,  and 
fought  with  almost  scientific  skill,  using  advance-  and  rear-guards,  skirmish-lines, 
and  field  fortifications."  Thus  closed  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  Lull-in  ware  on 
record. 

Seven  different  bands  of  Indians  compose  the  Ute  Nation,  which  formerly  roamed 
over  the  vast  territory  embraced  in  Western  Colorado,  Eastern  Utah,  Northern  New 
Mexico  and  Arizona,  and  Southern  Wyoming.  They  also  followed  the  buffalo 
through  Eastern  Colorado  during  their  periodical  hunts,  at  the  risk  of  war  with  the 
Cheyennes  and  Arapahoes  and  the  Comanche  and  Kiowa  Indians,  who  claimed  as 
theirs  the  country  over  which  the  great  Southern  herd  of  .buffalo  ranged.  The  four 


444  fffe  INDIAN  TRIBES  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

principal  of  these  bands  of  Utes  are  the  Uintahs,  in  Northeastern  Utah,  estimated 
at  four  hundred  and  thirty  souls ;  the  Los  Pinos,  in  the  Uncompahgre  Valley,  two 
thousand ;  the  Southern  Utes,  in  Southwestern  Colorado,  nine  hundred  and  thirty- 
four;  and  the  White  River  Utes,  in  Northwestern  Colorado,  eight  hundred.  They 
are  among  the  fiercest  and  most  warlike  of  the  tribes,  and  occupy  a  rough  and  dif 
ficult  country,  whose  mineral  wealth  alone  renders  it  attractive  to  white  settlers. 
They  hunt  the  bear,  elk,  and  deer  of  the  mountain-region,  and  will  do  no  work,  nor 
attempt  farming.  Captain  J.  Gunnison,  U.S.A.,  while  executing  a  government 
survey,  was  murdered  by  the  Utes,  with  his  entire  party,  on  the  Sevier  River, 
October  26, 1853. 

In  March,  1868,  N.  G.  Taylor,  Commissioner  of  Indian  Affairs,  Alexander  C. 
Hunt,  Governor  of  Colorado  Territory,  and  Colonel  Kit  Carson,  on  the  part  of  the 
United  States,  concluded  a  treaty  with  representative  chiefs  of  these  bands,  among 
whom  were  Ouray,  Kinache,  and  Jos6  Maria,  by  which  a  large  tract  of  land  in 
"Western  Colorado  was  set  apart  for  their  "  absolute  use  and  occupation,"  the  United 
States  solemnly  agreeing  that  no  persons  except  those  authorized  by  the  treaty 
should  ever  be  "permitted  to  pass  over,  settle  upon,  or  reside  in  the  territory 
described."  The  Utes  agreed  to  relinquish  all  claims  to  any  portion  of  the  territory 
except  such  as  was  embraced  in  the  limits  defined  in  the  treaty.  It  was  not  long 
before  miners  began  to  enter  the  Ute  Reservation  and  to  work  the  mines.  The  Utes 
were  uneasy,  and  in  1871  Ouray  asked  that  a  military  post  be  established  near  the 
reservation  to  prevent  further  intrusion  and  to  expel  those  unlawfully  within  it  In 
July,  1873,  a  commission  consisting  of  Felix  R.  Brunot  and  Nathan  Bishop  was 
sent  to  negotiate  with  the  Utes  for  the  purchase  of  the  reserve.  During  the  confer 
ence  that  ensued,  Brunot  stated  that  the  intruders  could  not  be  kept  away.  To  this 
Ouray  responded  with  the  pertinent  question,  "  Why  cannot  you  stop  them  ?  Is  not 
the  government  strong  enough  to  keep  its  agreement  with  us  ?" 

Finally,  on  September  13,  1873,  the  commissioners  succeeded  in  making  an 
agreement  with  the  Utes  ceding  to  the  United  States  nearly  four  million  acres  of 
their  reservation,  comprising  the  mineral  lauds.  It  was,  however,  stipulated  that  the 
Utes  should  be  permitted  to  hunt  on  this  land  as  long  as  the  game  lasted  and  the 
Indians  were  at  peace  with  the  whites,  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  per  annum  to  be 
disbursed  or  invested,  at  the  discretion  of  the  President,  for  the  use  and  benefit  of 
the  Utes  annually  forever.  It  was  also  stipulated  that  all  the  provisions  of  the  treaty 
of  1868  should  remain  in  force,  the  prohibitions  against  unauthorized  persons  settling 
upon  the  reservation  being  expressly  reaffirmed. 

With  the  surrender  of  this  portion  of  their  reservation,  the  Utes  had  a  right  to 
expect  and  did  expect  that  they  would  be  relieved  from  further  inroads,  and  th'.t  they 
would  be  protected  in  what  was  termed  the  agricultural  lands.  But  it  was  not  so  to 
be,  and  "  ranchmen"  soon  intruded  wherever  a  good  grazing-spot  could  be  found  for 
their  stock,  and  occupied  the  valleys  with  their  ranches.  Early  in  September,  1879. 
Mr.  Meeker,  of  the  White  River  Agency,  had  a  difficulty  with  Chief  Johnson  about 
ploughing  a  piece  of  land  belonging  to  the  Indians,  and  sent  for  troops  to  arrest  such 


INDIAN  AFFAIRS  SINCE  THE  ACQUISITION  OF  CALIFORNIA.          445 

Indian  chiefs  as  were  insubordinate,  and  to  afford  the  agent  requisite  protection.    As 
soon  as  the  Indians  learned  that  the  troops  were  advancing,  they  became  greatly 
excited,  regarding  it  as  a  declaration  of  war.     They  requested  Major  Thornburgh, 
the  commander,  to  halt  his  troops,  and  with  five  soldiers  to  come  to  the  agency, 
where  a  talk  and  a  better  understanding  could  be  had.     That  officer  decided  not  to 
comply  with  this  request,  and  the  command  entered  the  Ute  Reservation  in  the  after 
noon  of  September  28.     On  the  29th,  Agent  Meeker  and  all  his  male  employees  at 
the  White  River  Agency  were  killed  by  the  Indians  residing  there.     On  the  morn 
ing  of  the  same  day,  when  about  to  enter  a  cation,  and  fifteen  miles  from  the  agency, 
Lieutenant  Cherry,  who  had  been  sent  forward  with  an  advance  guard  to  reconnoitre, 
was  fired  upon.     The  fact  being  communicated  to  Major  Thornburgh,  he  withdrew 
his  troops  and  placed  them  in  line  of  battle,  with  orders  to  await  the  attack  of  the 
Indians.     The  warriors,  under  Chief  Jack,  numbering  about  one  hundred,  soon 
delivered  a  volley,  and  the  battle  began.     Major  Thornburgh,  two  other  officers, 
eleven  citizens,  and  two  soldiers  were  killed,  and  forty-one  wounded.     The  Indians 
admitted  a  loss  of  thirty-nine. 

A  delegation  of  chiefs  and  principal  men  of  the  Utes  visited  Washington  early 
in  1880,  and  by  an  agreement,  dated  March  6,  and  an  Act  of  Congress,  approved 
June  15,  consented  to  remove  from  the  State  of  Colorado  to  some  other  location,  on 
being  paid  the  value  of  their  Colorado  lands.  George  W.  Many  penny,  Alfred  B. 
Meacham,  John  B.  Bowman,  John  J.  Russell,  and  Otto  Mears  were  appointed  com 
missioners  to  secure  the  ratification  and  to  execute  the  provisions  of  the  same.  Its 
ratification  by  three-fourths  of  the  adult  males  of  the  tribe  having  been  procured, 
steps  were  taken,  in  September,  1880,  to  cause  the  money  appropriated  to  be  paid 
over  to  the  Indians,  the  portion  of  the  White  River  Utes  to  be  withheld  from  that 
band  until  the  surrender  or  apprehension  of  those  implicated  in  the  murders  at  their 
agency,  September  29, 1879. 


INDEX. 


AbcnaVij.  i.  254,  iL  147, 150. 

A cu era's  speech,  ii.  34. 

Adario,  a  Wjandot  chief,  i.  401. 

Address  of  Congress  to  the  Six  Nations,  L  259. 

Agassi*,  Professor,  L  28, 132. 

Agriculture,  ancient  Indian,  i.  112. 

Alabama  fort  stormed  by  De  Soto,  iL  42. 

Alaska  tribes,  i.  415. 

Alden,  Colonel  Ichabod,  killed,  L  263. 

Alexander  of  Pokanokct,  it  128. 

Algonkin  language,  i.  48. 

tribes,  i.  250-338. 
Alleghans,  i.  275. 
Allegory,  the  hunter's  dream,  L  59. 
Alligewis,  i.  107. 
Alvarado,  Hernando  de,  ii.  51. 
Amheret,  General,  L  201,  212,  222. 
Amidaa  and  Barlow  explore  the  American  coast,  ii.  65. 
Andastes,  i.  406,  ii.  102. 

war  with  the  Scnecas,  iL  104. 
Annawan,  »  Pokanoket  chief,  L  144. 

Antiquities,  i.  81-141 ;  garden-beds  of  Lake  Erie, 
L112. 

Apaches,  L  416-423;  disciplined,  u.  420;  massacre 
of  Camp  Grant,  ii.  421. 

Appalachians,  i.  86,  337-353. 

Aqninoshioni,  or  Iroqnoia,  L  382-403,  iL  159-165. 

Arapahocs,  L  325. 

Arickarees,  i.  372,  ii.  406. 

Anuistead,  Colonel,  in  Florida  war,  ii.  392. 

Armstrong,  Colonel,  destroys  Kittanning,  iL  187. 

Armstrong,  Lieutenant,  bravery  of,  iL  331. 

Arts  and  industries,  L  64-76, 128-141. 

Assegun  or  Bone  Indiana,  ii.  172. 

Assiniboines,  L  369. 

Atahentsio,  L  55,  397. 

Athabasca*,  L  32. 

Atkinson,  General  Henry,  ii.  379. 


Atotarho,  L  399. 

Attakullakulla,  iL  206, 209. 

Attasee,  battle  at,  iL  327. 

Atwater,  Caleb,  theory  respecting  mound*,  L  98, 107. 


B. 


Bad  Axe,  battle  of,  ii.  379. 

Bancroft,  H.  IL,  L  29. 

Bannocks,  i.  448. 

Bart  ram,  William,  i.  140. 

Bear-Paw  Mountain,  battle  of,  iL  442. 

Beanjeu,  Captain  de,  iL  185. 

Beers's  defeat,  ii.  134. 

Bianswah,  heroism  of,  i.  291,  295,  303,  304. 

Bienville  defeated  by  the  Chickasaws,  iL  157. 

Birch  Coolie,  action  at,  ii.  417. 

Black  Duck,  i.  312. 

Blackfeet,  i.  282-284,  ii.  406. 

Black  Hawk's  war,  ii.  374-379. 

Black  Hills  explored,  ii.  437. 

Black  Hoof,  iL  307. 

Black  Kettle's  camp  surprised,  ii.  421,  432. 

Bloodhounds  employed  against  Indiana,  L  35, 130. 

Bloody  Brook  massacre,  ii.  134. 

Bloody  Run,  battle  of,  ii.  216. 

Blue  Jacket,  ii.  307. 

Blue  Licks,  battle  of,  ii.  284. 

Blue  Water,  battle  of,  iL  423. 

Boonc,  Daniel,  ii.  282. 

Booncftborough  attacked,  ii.  283. 

Boudinot,  Elias,  assassinated,  iL  407. 

Bouquet,  Colonel  Henry,  repulses  De  Vetrie,  iL  195 ; 
at  Bushy  Bun,  219, 420 ;  expedition  against  West 
ern  tribes,  222 ;  makes  a  treaty  with  them,  230. 

Bowman,  Colonel,  ii.  284. 

Braddock,  General  Edward,  iL  184. 

Bradstreet's  expedition  against  the  Northwestern  In 
dians,  iL  222-225. 

447 


448 


INDEX. 


Brut,  Joseph,  Mohawk  chief,  u.  245, 252,  262,  272, 

301. 

Brookfield  attacked,  ii.  134. 
I { rot hertons,  i.  322-325. 
Brunswick,  Maine,  burned,  iL  150. 
Brash  Creek  Mound,  i.  103. 
Buckongehelas,  iL  307. 
Buffalo  Goad,  speech  at  Boston,  iL  435. 
Burgoyne's  expedition,  ii.  151. 
Butler,  Colonel  John,  at  Wyoming,  iL  261. 
Butler,  General  Richard,  killed,  iL  300. 
Butler,  Walter,  at  Cherry  Valley,  iL  263. 
Butler,  Colonel  Zebnlon,  at  Wyoming,  iL  261. 


Cabeca  de  Vaca,  iL  20,  30. 

Culi ok ia  mound,  L  102. 

California  tribes,  i.  355-360 ;  war  with,  iL  414. 

Campbell,  Major,  assassinated,  iL  215. 

Canada  conquered,  iL  202. 

Canassatego,  i.  277,  384,  388. 

Canby,  General  E.  11.  S.,  assassinated,  iL  436. 

Canonchet,  capture  and  death  of,  iL  140. 

Canonicus's  challenge,  ii.  89. 

Canso  surprised,  ii.  1 62. 

Captain  Jack,  Modoc  chief,  ii.  436. 

Captives  released  by  Colonel  Bouquet,  iL  230. 

Caribs,  L  31. 

Carlcton,  General  James  H.,  iL  420. 

Carolina  Indians,  ii.  111-114. 

Carson,  Colonel  "  Kit,"  iL  420,  421. 

Carder,  Jacques,  iL  21-29. 

Carver,  Captain  Jonathan,  iL  238. 

Casa  Grande,  i.  124. 

Cass,  Governor  Lewis,  L  104,  iL  338. 

Castin,  Baron  de  St.,  ii.  131. 

Catawbas,  L  353,  405-409,  ii.  111. 

Celtic  inscriptions,  i.  90. 

Cession  of  lands,  ii.  382. 

Champlain  founds  Quebec,  ii.  87. 

Chanco  saves  Jamestown,  iL  78. 

Charles  Emathla  murdered,  iL  388. 

Charlevoix,  iL  168. 

Cheraws,  L  409. 

Cherokees,  language,  L  49;  alphabet,  50;  nation, 
339-341,  407;  wars  with,  iL  206-210,  278, 
279 ;  treaty  with,  292,  368,  383 ;  emigration,  349, 
400 ;  removal,  383-387,  394 ;  troubles,  406-409, 
418,  419. 


Cherry  Valley  devastated,  iL  263. 

Cbeyennes,  L  325,  iL  424,  430-433. 

Chicago  massacre,  iL  319. 

Chichimecs,  L  36. 

Chickasaws,  L  348-350,  iL  41, 157,  292,  373, 402. 

Chicora  Indians,  iL  58. 

Chippewas,  L  34,  284-318 ;  territory  explored,  340. 

Cbippewyans,  L  33,  410. 

Chivington,  Colonel,  at  Sand  Creek,  ii.  424. 

Choctaws,  L  347,  iL  292;  removal,  399. 

Chowan  tribe,  iL  70. 

Church,  Captain  Benjamin,  iL  143. 

Cibola,  seven  cities  of,  iL  30. 

Clarke,  General  George  Rogers,  L  106,  iL  267,  284. 

Clarke,  General  William,  iL  337,  352. 

Clay,  General  Green,  iL  321. 

Clinch,  General  D.  L.,  iL  387,  389. 

Coacoochee  captured,  ii.  393. 

Cocheco  burned,  iL  148. 

Cochisi,  L  457. 

Coe-Hajo,  ii.  391. 

Coffee,  General  John,  iL  326,  331. 

Golden,  Cadwallader,  L  384. 

Comanches,  L  434,  451,  iL  384,  420. 

Combahees,  ii.  11. 

Conestogas,  ii.  105, 106. 

Confederated  tribes  of  the  lakes,  iL  296, 301. 

Conference  with  Brant  at  Niagara,  ii.  301. 

Congarees,  i.  353. 

Connecticut  tribes,  L  274. 

Connewangos,  L  406,  407. 

Copper-mining,  ancient,  L  116. 

Cornplanter,  ii.  291. 

Corn  spirit,  legend  of,  L  305. 

Cornstalk,  Shawnee  chief,  iL  234,  265. 

Coronado,  expedition  of,  iL  48-56. 

Costume,  i.  199,  413,  436,  443. 

Craven,  Governor,  defeats  the  Yamaaseea,  iL  156. 

Crazy  Horse,  Sioux  chief,  ii.  437, 439. 

Creeks,  L  86,  225,  341-347,  iL  285,  293, 294 ;  war 

of  1813-14, 324-333, 350 ;  removal  of;  362,399- 

404  ;  treaties,  350,  362,  372. 
Cresap,  Captain  Michael,  L  39,  iL  233. 
Crook,  General  George,  L  23,  iL  437,  438. 
Crow  Indians,  L  374. 
Cnmming,  Sir  Alexander,  iL  156. 
Cunningham's  Island  antiquities,  L  119. 
Cnsic,  David,  Iroquois  chronicler,  iL  90. 
Custcr,  General  George  A.,  destroys  Black  Kettle's 

village,  ii.  431 ;  defeated  and  slain,  438. 
Customs.     See  Manners  and  Customs. 


INDEX. 


449 


D. 

Dade,  Major,  defeat  of,  ii.  388. 
Dakotas,  i.  144,  228-237,  364-382. 
Dalzcll,  Captain,  defeated  and  slain,  ii.  217. 
Dare,  Virginia,  ii.  72. 
Dartmouth  College,  origin  of,  i.  323,  324. 
De  Ayllon,  Lucas  Vasqucz,  ii.  10. 
v  Xgeerfield  burned,  ii.  134,  149. 
-"Dclawares,  i.  276-282,  ii.  108-110,  201,  264;  reser 
vation  invaded,  414. 
Delude,  Chippcwyan  tradition  of,  i.  411. 
Dcnbon,  Captain  George,  ii.  1 40. 
l»enonville,  i.  402,  ii.  147. 
DC  Soto,  Hernando,  expedition  of,  ii.  30-47. 
Detroit,  ii.  15.%  164;  besieged,  214-217. 
Dicskau,  Baron,  defeated,  ii.  189. 
Digger  Indians,  i.  432, 448. 
Dighton  Rock  inscription,  i.  88. 
Dignenos,  i.  358. 
Donnaconna,  ii.  28,  29. 
Doolittle,  Senator  J.  It,  L  23. 
Downing,  Major,  surprises  Cheyenncs,  ii.  424. 
Drake,  Sir  Francis,  ii.  69,  71. 
Ducoign,  Baptiste,  i.  107. 
Dudley's  defeat,  ii.  321. 
Dull  Knife,  Cheyenne  chief,  ii.  440. 
Dunmore's  expedition,  ii.  234,  235. 
Dutch  and  Indian  wars,  ii.  83,  161. 


Eliot,  John,  i.  253,  261,  268,  ii.  91. 

Kit-Mountain  Utahs,  L  445. 

Elkswattawa,  the  Prophet,  i.  54,  ii.  313,  367. 

Emigration,  progress  of,  ii.  344. 

Employment  of  Indians  in  war,  L  248,  258,  318. 

Enotochopco,  battle  of,  ii.  330. 

Erie  tribe,  L  118,  403 ;  wan  of,  405. 

Estevan  put  to  death,  ii.  49. 

E-st  ill's  defeat,  ii.  284. 

Evans,  Lieutenant  Colonel,  attacks  Comanches,   ii. 

433. 

Evils  of  our  Indian  system,  i.  23. 
Explorations  of  Indian  country,  ii.  339. 


P. 

Fettennan  massacre,  U.  426. 

Fin  Nation,  L  319 ;  origin  of,  398. 


Five  civilized  tribes,  i.  338. 
Flat-Mouth,  i.  304,  312. 
Florida,  i.  9, 16,  30 ;  war,  ii.  387-394. 
Floyd,  General  John,  ii.  327, 328. 
Forbes's  expedition,  ii.  196. 

Forsythe's  fight  with  Chcyennes  and  Sioux,  ii.  430. 
Fort  Ancient,  i.  102 ;  Dade,  capitulation  of,  ii.  391 ; 
Duqucsne,  ii.  182,  196;  Harrison  attacked,  ii. 
319;  Henry  defended,  ii.  266;  Hill,  Elmira,  i. 
101 ;  Laurens,  ii.  269,  270 ;  London,  massacre  at, 
ii.  209;  Massachusetts  raptured,  ii.  163;  Meigs 
besieged,  ii.  321;  Michilimackinao  taken,  i.  216; 
Minis  massacre,  ii.  325 ;  Niagara  taken,  ii.  201 ; 
Pitt  besieged,  ii.  211 ;  Sandusky  captured,  ii.  213; 
Stanwix  besieged,  ii.  252 ;  William  Henry  taken, 
ii.  190. 

Fortifications,  i.  126. 
Foster,  Professor  J.  W.,  L  20, 132. 
Fox  tribe,  L  297,  306. 
Franklin,  Benjamin,  ii.  85. 
French   settlements  and  posts,  ii.  167-177;  policy 

with  the  tribes,  168. 
Frontenac,  Count  de,  ii.  148, 169. 


G. 


Gage,  Colonel  Thomas,  ii.  185,  222. 

Gallatin,  Albert,  i.  48,  49. 

Gansevoort,  Colonel,  at  Fort  Stanwix,  ii.  252. 

Garces,  Father  Francisco,  L  455. 

Garfield,  President,  policy  of,  L  25. 

Gasp6  Indians,  ii.  26. 

Gatschet,  Albert  S.,  L  48,  50. 

Geological  changes,  i.  139. 

Gibbon,  General  John,  i.  24,  ii.  442. 

Gila  Apaches,  i.  419. 

Girty,  Simon,  ii.  266. 

Gladwyn,  Major,  defends  Detroit,  ii.  213. 

Goffe,  the  regicide,  ii.  143. 

Gosnold,  Bartholomew,  ii.  74. 

Gourgues,  Dominic  de,  ii.  61. 

Granganameo,  ii.  65,  70. 

Grant,  Major  James,  ii.  196,  209. 

Grave  Creek  Mounds,  L  95, 110. 

Greenville,  Sir  Richard,  ii.  66,  69. 

Greenville,  treaty  of,  ii.  306. 

Gros  Venires,  i.  372. 

Guess,  George,  invents  Cherokee  alphabet,  L  50. 

Qoristenigo  defeated  and  killed,  ii.  285. 


n— 67 


450 


INDEX. 


H. 


Hadley  attacked,  ii.  143. 

Hagler,  king  of  the  Catawbas,  i.  409. 

Halleck-Tustenugge,  ii.  393. 

Hancock,  General,  destroys  a  Cheyenne  and  Sioux 

village,  ii.  426. 

Hardin  and  Truman  killed,  ii.  302. 
Harmar,  Colonel  Josiah,  defeated,  ii.  296,  297. 
Harney,  General,  surprises  a  Sioui  village,  ii.  423. 
Harriot,  Thomas,  his  account  of  the  Virginia  Indiana, 

ii.  68. 

Harrison,  General  William  H.,  ii.  309,  315,  322. 
Hatfield  attacked,  ii.  135,  143. 
Huverhill  burned,  ii.  149. 
Hawkins,  Colonel  Benjamin,  i.  105. 
Hayden,  Professor,  i.  31. 
Hendrick,  King,  ii.  183,  189. 
Henry,  Dr.  Charlton.  L  417. 
Herkimer,  General  Nicholas,  ii.  253-256. 
Hertel  de  Uouville,  ii.  148,  149. 
Hiawatha,  ii.  160. 
Hildreth,  Dr.  S.  P.,  i.  101. 
Hillabee  towns  destroyed,  ii.  327. 
Hirrihigua,  ii.  17. 

Hobbs's  fight  at  Number  Four,  ii.  164. 
Hochelaga,  ii.  29. 
Holmes,  Major  A.  H.,  ii.  334. 
Holyoke,  Captain,  at  Turner's  Fails,  ii.  142 
Hon  Yost's  stratagem,  ii.  256. 
Hopkins,  General,  expedition  of,  ii.  320. 
Horseshoe,  battle  of,  ii.  331. 
Houghton,  Dr.  Douglass,  i.  135. 
Howard,  General  0.  O.,  ii.  442. 
Hualapaia,  L  458. 

Hudson  explores  New  Tork,  ii.  81-83. 
Hull,  General  William,  surrenders  Detroit,  ii.  320. 
Hurons,  L  400. 


Illinese  tribe,  i.  313. 

Indian,  affinity  with  Mongolian  type,  L  29. 

agriculture,  L  71,  112. 

antiquities,  L  81-141. 

architecture,  L  122. 

art*  and  industries,  L  64-76,128-141,177-182. 

Bureau,  i.  24,  ii.  351. 

coins,  i.  72. 

compared  with  the  Asiatic,  L  44. 

demonology,  i.  208. 

doctrine  of  metempsychosis,  L  42. 


Indian  fortifications,  L  126. 

languages,  L  31,  47-50. 

literature,  L  51. 

magic,  L  15T-163. 

maize  plant,  L  61,  72,  116. 

manitos,  L  43,  139,  207. 

manners  and  customs,  L  40, 149, 164-237, 449, 
450 ;  of  the  Apaches,  421 ;  Chippewyans, 
411-415;  Comanches,  435-444;  Creeks, 
225;  Dakotas,  229;  Kenistenoe,  332-338; 
Massachusetts  tribes,  L  249-253,  ii.  93; 
Navajoes,  L  425-428;  Ojibwas,  L  226; 
Shoshones,  L  432 ;  Virginia  tribes,  ii.  67. 

medas  and  jossakeeds,  i.  154—163. 

medical  knowledge,  L  76-SO. 

mental  and  physical  traits,  i.  36-38. 

meteorology,  L  43. 

migrations,  i.  83-87. 

myths,  L  27,  33,  55. 

oratory,  i.  38-53. 

organization  and  government,  L  248-250. 

origin  of,  i.  27-36. 

origin  of  the  name,  L  137. 

ossuaries,  i.  218. 

pictography,  i.  61-63. 

policy  of  the  United  States,  L  23,  287-293. 

population,  i.  26. 

religion  and  mythology,  L  142—162. 

songs,  i.  51—53. 

sports  and  pastimes,  i.  190-199. 

superstitions  and  omens,  i.  42,  206. 

theology,  i.  32,  41. 

totems,  i.  178,  245. 

trade,  L  236-238,  ii.  308. 

wrongs  and  abuses,  L  23. 
Indian  Territory,  L  26,  339,  ii.  382. 
IOWM,  L  380. 

Iroquois,  or  Aquinoshioni,  theology,  L  41 ;  myths 
and  traditions,  55, 56 ;  customs,  218-225 ;  history, 
382-390,  ii.  160-166,  273-278;  treaties,  288- 
292. 


J. 


Jackson,  General  Andrew,  subdues  the  Creek  Nation, 

B.  826-35. 

Jacobs,  Delaware  chief,  killed,  ii.  198-200. 
Jamestown  settled,  ii.  75. 
Jefferson's  Indian  policy,  ii.  308. 
Jesup,  General  T.  L.  in  Florida  war,  ii.  391. 
Jicarilla  Apaches,  L  424. 


INDEX. 


451 


Johnson,  Sir  John,  ii.  250,  277,  278. 
Johnson,  Colonel  Ilk-hard  M.,  ii.  322. 
Johnson,  Sir  William,  ii.  178, 184, 188, 189, 193, 198 

-200,  202,  223,  236,  250. 
Joseph,  chief  of  the  Nes  Perees,  ii.  441. 
Jiiiiionvillc  defeated  and  slain,  ii.  183. 


Kahquas,  or  Andastcs,  i.  406. 
Kaskaskias,  i.  330,  ii.  44. 
Raws,  or  Kansas  Indians,  i.  382,  ii.  382. 
Kecnc,  New  Hampshire,  attacked,  ii.  163. 
Kekeewin  inscriptions,  i.  62. 
K«  nUu-noK,  i.  286,  331-338. 
Kickapoos,  treaty  of  1832,  ii.  373. 
Kicking  Bird,  i.  451. 
Kiowas,  L  452,  ii.  421. 
Kirkland,  Rev.  Samuel,  L  395. 
KitUnning  destroyed,  ii.  187. 
Xiamaths,  i.  356,  357. 
Kondiaronk,  i.  401. 


Lake  George,  battle  of,  ii.  188. 

La  I  A  ml  re  invests  Annapolis  Royal,  ii.  163. 

Lancaster,  Massachusetts,  burned,  ii.  138. 

Lane,  Ralph,  i.  67  ;  explores  Virginia,  70,  71. 

Lathrop'a  defeat,  ii.  134. 

Laudonnierc,  Ren<5  de,  ii.  59. 

Lawson,  John,  account  of  the  Congarees,  L  353. 

Le  liu'iif,  Fort,  captured,  ii.  215. 

Lcuape,  i.  276,  ii.  108-110. 

Lewi*,  Colonel  Andrew,  ii.  234. 

Lewis  and  Clarke's  exploring  tour,  ii.  309. 

Lipans,  i.  419. 

Little  Big  Horn  battle,  ii.  438. 

Little  Crow,  Sioux  chief,  ii.  417,  418. 

Little  Raven,  Arapahoe  chief,  ii.  435. 

Little  Turtle,  Miami  chief,  ii.  303,  304. 

Logan,  Tah-ga-yu-ta,  i.  39,  ii.  233,  234. 

Logan,  Colonel  Benjamin,  ii.  284. 

Long  Cane,  settlement  destroyed,  ii.  207. 

Long  Prairie  battle,  ii.  304. 

Loavigny  defeats  the  Oatagamies,  ii.  165. 

Lovewell's  fight,  ii.  151. 

Lyttleton,  Governor  W.  II.,  ii.  206. 


Mackenzie,  Colonel  R.  S.,  ii.  422,  438. 

Maine  tribes,  i.  254. 

Manabozho,  i.  56,  308. 

Mandans,  i.  289,  370,  ii.  406. 

Manhattans,  i.  81,  83. 

Manners  and  customs,  i.  164-237. 

Maricopas,  i.  458. 

Marietta  mounds,  i.  95,  101. 

Mart  borough,  Massachusetts,  burned,  ii.  139. 

Maryland  Indians,  ii.  96. 

Mascotins,  i.  319,  ii.  173. 

Mason  and  Brent's  expedition,  ii.  101. 

Mason,  Captain  John,  ii.  116. 

Massachusetts  colonized,  i.  88. 

tribes,  251-254. 
Massacre  at  Gnadcnhiitten,  ii.  28L 

Massacres  in  Virginia,  ii.  77,  78. 

Massasoit,  ii.  88. 

Maumce  Rapids,  battle  at,  ii.  304. 

Maury,  M.  P.,  i.  36. 

Mauvilla,  battle  at,  ii.  39. 

McGillivray,  General  Alexander,  L  346,  ii.  293. 

Mclntosh,  General  W.,  ii.  362. 

Meadow  Indians,  i.  321. 

MedBeld  burned,  ii.  139. 

Menendcz,  Pedro  de,  ii.  60. 

Menomonics,  i.  286,  328. 

Mercer,  Hugh,  ii.  187. 

Mescalero  Apaches,  i.  419,  424. 

Mctca,  Pottawatomie  chief,  ii.  345. 

Miami,  Fort,  captured,  ii.  214. 

Miauiis,  i.  326,  ii.  298, 405. 

Miantonomo,  ii.  89. 

Micanopy,  Scuiinole  chief,  ii.  391. 

Michigauiics,  i.  313. 

Michilimackinac  captured,  ii.  212. 

Micmac  and  Marechite  tribes,  ii.  163. 

Miles,  General  Nelson  A.,  ii.  436,  442. 

Minnetarees,  ii.  372. 
{   Minuisiuk  battle  and  massacre,  ii.  271. 

Mississagies,  i.  286,  390,  404. 

Mississippi  River  discovered,  ii.  42. 

Missouri  Indians,  i.  357. 

Modocs,  i.  330,  361,  ii.  436. 

Mohavcs,  L  457. 

Mohawks,  L  400. 

Mohicans,  i.  274,  ii.  115,  246. 
Monacans,  ii.  80. 
Mondamin,  feast  of,  i.  194. 


INDEX. 


Mongolian  type,  affinity  of  Indian  with,  L  29. 

Monroe,  President,  removal  policy  of,  ii.  353. 

Monseys,  L  217. 

Montcalm,  ii.  190. 

Moutezutna,  L  454. 

Montgomery,  Colonel,  attaeka  the  Cherokees,  ii.  49. 

Moore,  UoTcrnor  James,  ii.  154. 

Moquia,  L  455. 

Moravian  Delawares  massacred,  ii.  281. 

Morgan,  Daniel,  ii.  185. 

Morgan,  Lewis  11.,  L  87,  111. 

Mormon  outrages,  :  448. 

Moscoso  succeeds  Do  Sato,  iL  45. 

Mound-Builders,  L  30,  107-112. 

Mounds,  L  4 1,95-111. 

Mnnroe,  Colonel,  surrenders  Fort  William    Henry. 

U.191. 

Muscogecs.     See  Appalachians. 
Muskigoes,  L  286. 
Mystic,  Fort,  destroyed,  ii.  118. 


N. 


Nadowaqna,  story  of,  L  175. 

Naoticokes,  ii.  98. 

Narragansetts,  i.  273 ;  their  fort  captured  by  General 

Winslow,  iL  137. 
Narvaes,  Panfilo  de,  iL  16. 
Natchez  tribe,  L  148,  351,  ii.  45,  160. 
Nanset  tribe,  L  251. 
Navajoes,  i.  75,  424-428,  455,  iL  420. 
Nemattanow,  the  invulnerable,  iL  77. 
Ncpissings,  L  284,  286. 
Neuter  Nation,  L  405. 
New  Qopkinton  surprised,  ii.  152. 
New  Mexico  tribes,  L  416-444. 
Newport  ruin,  i.  92. 
Newport's  eolcny  in  Virginia,  iL  74. 
New  River,  General,  i.  409. 
New  York  Indians,  L  399,  ii.  84. 
Nez  Perces'  war,  iL  441, 442. 
Niantics,  i.  273. 
Ninigret,  ii.  140. 
Nipmucks,  i.  251,261. 
Niza,  Marcus  de,  ii.  48. 

Noble,  Colonel  Arthur,  defeated  and  slain,  ii.  163. 
Norridgewocks,  i.  255 ;  surprised,  iL  152. 
Norton,  Rev.  John,  "  the  redeemed  captive,"  iL  163. 
Nottaways,  ii.  T.I. 
"Number  Four,*'  Fort  defended,  ii.  163, 164. 


O. 


Occam,  Rev.  Samson,  L  322. 

OoonosUta,  iL  206. 

Odawas,  L  286,  320. 

Oglethorpe,  Gen.  James,  L  345,  iL  158. 

Ohio,  settlement  of,  iL  295, 296. 

Ohio  Company,  ii.  180. 

Ojibwas,  or  Chippewas,  L  237 ;  history  of,  L  284- 

318;  cede  their  lands,  ii.  401. 
Okeechobee,  battle  of,  iL  391. 
Oinahas,  L  380. 

Oncidas,  i.  390-397,  400,  ii.  277,  289. 
Oneida  stone,  L  93,  390. 
Onondagas,  L  397-400. 
Onondaga  sepulchral  stone,  L  110. 
Opcchancanough,  ii.  77. 
Opotbcholo,  Cherokee  chief,  iL  418. 
Oregon  tribes,  i.  360-62. 

war  with,  ii.  415. 
Oreybe,  L  454. 

Origin  of  the  Inditns,  L  27-36. 
Oriskany,  battle  of,  iL  254-256. 
Ortex,  Juan,  L  33. 
Osages,  L  382,  iL  400. 

traditions  of,  L  58. 
Osceola,  Seminole  chief,  iL  389-392. 
Ossuaries,  L  218. 
Otoes  and  Missonrias,  L  329. 
Ottawas,  L  329,  iL  172,  385. 
Ouantcnon,  Fort,  captured,  ii.  216. 
Outa^amtes,  or  Foxes,  L  306,  iL  164. 
Oyster  River  settlement  destroyed,  iL  148. 


P. 


Pacific  coast  tribes,  L  355-363. 

Pah-Utes,  L  446. 

Pah-Yants,  L  445. 

Papagos,  L  458. 

Parrow-a-kifty,  i.  434. 

Passaconnaway,  L  261,  26i-273,  iL  146. 

Paugns,  Pequawket  chief,  slain,  iL  151. 

Pawnees,  i.  329. 

Paxton  Boys  massacre  Conestogas,  ii.  106. 

Peace  Commissioners  of  1866,  iL  425,  427, 428. 

Penn,  William,  founds  Pennsylvania,  iL  1 19, 120. 

Pennacooks,  L  251,  260-272,  ii.  146. 

Pcnobscots,  iL  163. 

Pcnsacola  captured,  ii.  335. 


INDEX. 


453 


• 


Pcorias,  i.  330. 

Pequawkcts,  ii.  151. 

Pcquou,  i.  274,  ii.  93,  115-121. 

Philip,  King,  war  with,  ii.  125-145 

Piankeshaws.  i.  329. 

Pickcns,  General  Andrew,  ii.  279. 

Pictography,  i.  61-63. 

Piegan  Massacre,  ii.  434. 

Pierce,  Captain,  defeated  and  slain,  ii.  139. 

Pike,  Z.  M.,  exploring  expedition  of,  ii.  309. 

Pilgrims  laud  at  Plymouth,  ii.  89. 

Pillagers,  i.  286,  300,  310. 

Pimos,  i.  458. 

Pitt,  Fort,  besieged,  ii.  319,  320. 

Pi-Utes,  i.  362,  446. 

Pocahontas,  ii.  76. 

Point  Pleasant,  battle  of,  ii.  232,  233. 

Poisoners,  i.  294. 

Pukanokcta,  i.  251. 

Poncan,  i.  380. 

Ponce  dc  Leon,  ii.  9. 

Pontiac,  war  with,  ii.  210,  229. 

Population,  Indian,  ii.  237-239,  241,  242. 

Port  Royal  (AnnapolU)  taken,  ii.  149. 

PotUwatomics,  i.  58,  286,  330,  ii.  373,  403. 

Powell's  fight  with  Red  Cloud,  ii.  426. 

Powbatan,  ii.  75. 

Presque  Isle,  fort  at,  captured,  ii.  215. 

Proctor,  General  Henry,  ii.  321,  322. 

Pueblos,  L  75,  452-457. 

Putnam,  General  Ilufus,  i.  101. 

Q. 

Qiiapaws,  i.  329,  382,  ii.  44,  400. 
Quinnipiacs,  i.  274. 

R, 

Raisin  River,  defeat  at,  ii.  321. 

Rale,  Father  Sebastian,  i.  255,  ii.  149-151. 

Raleigh,  Sir  Walter,  ii.  64. 

Red  Cloud,  Sioux  chief,  i.  367,  ii.  426-438. 

Red  Jacket,  i.  389,  ii.  291. 

Rehoboth  burned,  ii.  139. 

Religion  and  mythology,  L  142-162. 

Removal  policy,  i.  22,  ii.  361,  369,  370. 

Report  of  Indian  Commissioners,  ii.  428,  429. 

Reservations  such  in  name  only,  L  22. 

Rhode  Island  Indian*,  ii.  273,  274. 

Ribault ,  Jean,  ii.  67. 


Richardville,  John  B.,  L  327 

Riggs,  RCT.  8.  R.,  i.  48. 

River  Rouge  raonnd,  i.  102. 

Rogers,  Major  Robert,  ii.  204. 

Rogue  River  Indians,  L  356,  361. 

Ross,  John,  Cherokee  chief,  ii.  394,  407-409,  418. 


S. 

Saco  tribe,  i.  255-260. 

Sacrifice  of  a  Sioux  girl,  i.  211. 

Sacs  and  Foxes,  i.  331,  375,  ii.  375,  402. 

Sagima,  Ottawa  warrior,  ii.  172. 

Saginaws,  i.  286,  ii.  404,  405. 

Salmon  Falls  burned,  ii.  148. 

Sampitches,  i.  445. 

Sand  Creek  massacre,  ii.  424. 

Saratoga  destroyed,  ii.  163,  164. 

Sassacus,  Pcquot  chief,  i.  274,  ii.  94,  119, 120. 

Satanta,  Kiowu  chief,  i.  451. 

Saultcun,  i.  286. 

Scalps,  Indian,  bounty  offorcd  for,  ii.  150. 

Scandinavian  explorations,  i.  88. 

Scarooyadi,  the  Half-King,  ii.  180. 

Schcncctady  burned,  ii.  148. 

Schoharie  Valley  devastated,  ii.  278. 

Schoolcraft,  H.  R.,  ii.  35,  346,  375. 

Schurtz,  Carl,  i.  24. 

Scott,  General  Charles,  ii.  2'J8,  304. 

Seminoles,  i.  350,  ii.  372,  387-393,  399. 

Senecas,  i.  400,  ii.  147,  291,  400. 

Seven  Cities,  tradition  of  the,  i.  351  ii.  48. 

Sewee  tribe  shipwrecked,  i.  353. 

Shawnees,  i.  33,  221,  222,  ii.  187,  245,  264,  292. 

Shelby,  Colonel  Isaac,  ii.  322. 

Sheridan,  General,  ii.  430,  437. 

Shikclimo,  i.  180. 

Shingabawassin,  ii.  348. 

Shirley,  Governor,  war  of,  ii.  162-164. 

Shorikowani,  Mohawk  chief,  i.  405. 

Shoshones,  or  Snakes,  i.  429,  430. 

Sibley,  General  II.  H.,  ii.  417,  418. 

Sioux  (tee  Dakotas),  i.  85,  it  415-418,  426. 

war  of  1876,  ii.  437. 
Sitting  Bull,  Sioux  leader,  ii.  438. 
Skeleton  in  armor,  i.  92. 
Skenandoa,  i.  392. 

Slavery  among  the  Southern  Indians,  ii.  293. 
Smallpox  ravages  on  Western  tribes,  ii.  406. 
Smith,  Edmund  P.,  L  24. 
Smith,  Captain  John,  ii.  76. 


454 


INDEX. 


Song  of  the  Okogu,  i.  53. 

Song  nk-nm-ig,  i.  304, 305. 

Sowahagens,  i.  269. 

Sports  and  pastimes,  L  194-199. 

Spotted  Tail,  L  367. 

Springfield  attacked,  1L  134. 

St.  Augustine  founded,  ii.  60. 

St.  Glair,  General  Arthur,  ii.  295,  299. 

St.  Leger,  Colonel  Barry,  ii.  251,  252. 

St.  Pierre,  Chevalier  de,  ii.  181. 

St.  Regis  tribe,  ii.  171. 

Stevens,  Captain  Phinehas,  ii.  163,  164. 

Stockbridge  tribe,  i.  254,  ii.  409. 

Striking  the  post,  i.  189. 

Sudbury  fight,  ii.  139. 

Sullivan,  General  John,  ii.  273-275. 

Sumner,  Colonel   K.  V.,  defeats  the  Cheyennes,  ii. 

423. 

Sun-worship,  L  40,  147-150,  191,  352. 
Susquehannocks,  ii.  96,  98-102,  107. 
Swan,  Major  Caleb,  on  the  Creeks,  ii.  344-347. 
Sycamore  Creek,  skirmish  at,  ii.  377. 


T. 

Talcott,  Major  John,  it  144. 

Talladega,  battle  of,  ii.  326. 

Tanacharisson,  ii.  180,  181. 

Tarhe,  ii.  307,  314. 

Tarratines,  L  255.     • 

Tash  Uuhs,  L  444. 

Taylor,  General  Zachary,  ii.  319,  391. 

Tecumseh,  ii.  311,  319,  321-324. 

Teton  fortifications,  i.  86. 

Thames,  battle  of  the,  ii.  322. 

Thayendanagea,  245. 

Thompson,  General,  killed,  ii.  389. 

Thornburgh,  Major,  killed,  ii.  444. 

Three  Nations  make  a  treaty,  ii.  99. 

Timpanagos,  i.  445. 

Tinneh  tribe,  L  416. 

Tippecanoe,  battle  of,  ii.  315. 

Tobacco,  L  40,  83,  ii.  68,  71. 

Tohopeka,  battle  of,  ii.  331. 

Tonkawas,  i.  420. 

Tonto  Apaches,  i.  419,  423. 

Topinabi,  ii.  307. 

Totems,  i.  178,  245. 

Trade,  Indian,  L  236-238,  ii.  308. 

Traditions,  i.  31-36,  56-58. 


Treaties  Paris,  ii  202;  Southern  tribes,  210,  292, 
3 19,361,  363, 368,  372;  (Payne's  Landing),  372, 
390 ;  (New  Echota),  383 ;  Fort  Stanwiz,  288,  289 ; 
Fort  Melntosh,  29.2 ;  Fort  Harmar,  296 ;  Green- 
ville,  306;  Northwestern  tribes,  337,  365,  373; 
with  Chippewas  (1836),  401 ;  Fort  Gibson  (1833), 
390;  Fort  Laramie,  423;  Fort  Wise,  424. 

Tullushatches,  battle  of,  ii.  326. 

Turner's  Fills,  battle  of,  ii.  142. 

Tnsealoosa,  the  Black  Warrior,  ii.  38. 

Tuacarawas,  i.  400,  ii.  155. 


u. 

nchees.il  93,  116. 

Uinta  Utahs,  L  445,  446. 

Uncas,  ii.  93,  116. 

Upsarokas,  or  Crows,  L  374,  ii.  406. 

Utahs,  L  411  148. 

Ute  troubles,  ii.  442. 

V. 

Van  Schaick,  Colonel,  expedition  against  the  Ouon- 

dagas,  ii.  271. 
Veraxzani,  John  de,  ii.  13. 
Victoria,  Apache  chief,  ii.  422. 
Vincennes  and  Kaskaskia  captured,  ii.  268. 
Virginia  Indians  described,  ii.  65. 

exterminated,  ii.  78. 
Vitachucco,  ii.  35. 


Wabatihaw'a  speech,  L  54,  55. 

Wabenos,  L  161. 

Wacocs,  L  420. 

Wadsworth,  Captain,  defeated  at  Sadbnry,  ii.  139. 

Walker,  Utah  chief,  L  447. 

Wampanoags,  ii.  126. 

Wampum,  L  72-74,  385. 

Wanalaneet,  i.  267. 

Wapaconequet,  ii.  300. 

War  weapons  and  customs,  L  70, 157, 185, 188, 218. 

Warfare,  L  184. 

Washington,  ii.  169,  180,  181, 183. 

Washington  Territory  tribes,  L  362. 

Waub  o-jeeg,  L  297,  306. 

Wayne,  General  Anthony,  defeats  Guristersigo,  ii. 

285. 
defeats  the  Western  Indians,  ii.  302-304. 


INDEX. 


455 


Waxhaw*,  i.  408. 

Wean,  i.  330. 

Weathcrford,  Creek  leader,  il  324-332. 

Weber  Utes,  L  445. 

Westbrooke,  Captain,  surprises  the  Norridgewoeks, 

ii.  rso. 

Wheolock,  Rev.  Eleaxer,  i.  323. 

Wheelwright,  John,  Indian  deed,  L  2C5. 

Whipple,  Lieutenant  A.  W.,  i.  358. 

White,  John,  colonizes  Virginia,  ii.  72. 

Wichitas,  i.  451. 

Williams,  Colonel  Ephnim,  ii  189. 

Willett,  Lieutenant-Colonel,  sortie  of,  ii.  255. 

Wingina,  it  67-71. 

Winnebagoes,  i.  374,  380,  ii.  403,  404,  410. 

Winslow,  General  Josiah,  attacks  the  NarraganaetU, 

ii.136. 

Withlaooochee,  battle  of.  il  389. 
Wood  Lake,  battle  of,  ii.  417. 


Worth,  General  William  J.,  close*  the  Florida  war, 

ii.  392-394. 
Wyandot  Huron*,  i.  400,  ii.  171,  266,  292,  296, 

30C. 
Wyoming  massacre,  ii.  261. 


Y. 

Yamassee  war,  i.  355,  ii.  154, 155. 
Yampa  Utahs,  i.  445. 
Yogowanea,  queen  of  the  Eries,  L  404. 
Yamas,  L  356,  358,  458. 


Z. 

Zane,  Elisabeth,  heroism  of,  ii.  267. 
ZoBi,  L  454. 

captured  by  Coronado,  ii.  60. 


THE   KND. 


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